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C
arnival and the Caribbean are like love and marriage, horse and carriage. The noisy, colourful festivals dominate national psyches across the region, and Cuba is no exception. However, while one Carnival per year is enough for most of the other islands, Cuba — perhaps because of its much larger size — has several, at different times, in different places. And the standout, no-holds-barred, undisputed champion of Cuban Carnivals is the extravaganza that takes place in the eastern city of Santiago at the end of July. Most of the world’s major Carnivals — Rio, New Orleans, Trinidad and Tobago, Venice — are tied to the Christian season of Lent, and occur in February. “Generally, all festivals begin for religious reasons,” comments Omar Lopez, conservador of the City of Santiago. In Santiago, the religious connection is
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to Santiago Apostol (St James the Apostle), the patron saint of the city, whose feast day falls on 25 July. But the celebration does not begin or end there: it flows over and around the saint’s commemoration, to give the city an entire week of music, dance, street food, and chimaeric costumery. Small bands of brightly clad masqueraders, called comparsas and paseos, gather near the waterfront to parade before rows of bleachers and a panel of judges, competing for prestigious prizes (though, this being socialist Cuba, no money is involved!). Congas, which are rhythmic percussion groups punctuated by stridently discordant Chinese horns, move swiftly down the avenue, joined by passersby in a hip-jerking, wide-legged step (arrollando) that looks easier than it is. Some of the bands, known as carabali, can trace their lineage back to the nineteenth century, with costumes that hark back