Living life to the full

Carnival in the Algarve is celebrated with three days of street parties and revelry.   In ancient times, the festivities, which go back to Roman Pagan rituals, symbolised the rebirth of Nature and the hope for a favourable harvest.

In the Algarve, people masquerade making noise in the street. Carnival goers, disguising voices and playing tricks on people are called “entrudos”.  The masked balls were always high points of the festival, as were the “estudantinas”, groups of people dressed as students who sang allusive quartets about Carnival.

Today, Carnival in the Algarve has adopted the sounds of the Brazilian Samba schools.  This however does not put an end to other more traditional expressions of Carnival such as barn dances or mischief-making.

Various cities choose a King and Queen of Carnival, and the burial of the “Merry Monarch” on Ash Wednesday is a very attractive occasion.  Flower fights are very Algarvian, such as those in Moncarapacho, Quarteira, Loulé, Vila Real de Santo António and São Brás de Alportel.

For three days the Algarve is full of music, irreverence, and even a little madness, because in the final analysis, “during Carnival, nobody takes offence”.