Sometimes, the best things happen when plans fall apart. Carnaval 2019 was exactly this kind of experience for us. We started the day like any other day, with a nice long hot walk with all of our belongings on our backs, but ended with dance parties and a rock and roll band.
After our delicious buffet at Novo Rodeio we took a bus to arrive at our hostel to check in around 3:30PM. There was a lot of commotion as people were moving things in and out of their rooms, but the person running reception was nowhere to be found. We had a phone number posted on the door, but that number seemed to be out of service. One of the people unloading a car gave us a different number, but that didn’t seem to work either!
The very helpful person also informed us that they were going to be performing that evening, and we said, “Oh cool, you’re performing at Carnaval?”
“No, we’re performing here at the hostel”
“Oh, are you performing before or after?” we wondered.
“We’re not sure yet, maybe after”
Now, we’ve heard varying reports about Carnaval, but it seemed to end between 1AM and 4AM, so a performance starting after was a surprise. However, this was already planned to be our late night, so we let it go.
We settled into our dorm, sweated, relaxed, sweated some more and tried to take naps. It was a hot one, and the hostels here sometimes have a rule where they only have AC on at night, between set hours. We then started coordinating with Louisa to meetup for Carnaval. We had met Louisa while traveling in Cuidad del Este, and had realized we would overlap, which was very fun. She bought us tickets at the bus station while she was there, and we agreed to meet at 8:30pm out on a pier on the Costinera.
Now, the Carnaval celebration at Encarnación has a bit of a reputation, of being great. We read loads of blogs describing how no-one will challenge the supremacy of Brazil’s carnival in Rio de Janeiro, but Encarnación’s parades are top notch. The samba schools from all around put amazing dancers into a competition, the floats are fun and ambitious, and the crowd is amazing. People really get into the party, dancing and singing in the stands, while getting into “Fake Snow” fights. Fake snow is spray foam in a can that we read is basically mandatory equipment for Carnaval.
So, we went the store, bought a large beer to split at the pier, and a large can of SpuMagic (literally the name) fake snow. We met Louisa in the pier, walked along the beach to get a snack for a bit, and then headed to the main event, the Sambadrome parade stands. There are 4 sections, A,B,C,D. We were in section D, which ironically was at the start of the parade.
As we entered the gate, the first unplanned event occured… they CONFISCATED our SpuMagic!! Apparently you’re supposed to buy it in the stands, not before hand. Wish we’d known, but oh well. Our lack of snow didn’t stop us from getting covered, the snow flies from all sides.
So, we get into the stands just a little after 9:30PM, and the parade has gotten going. It’s beautiful. Fun floats, big groups of dancers, and star dancers competing during the parade for some sort of Queen of Carnaval status. Encarnación is also known for scanty costuming, and this year was certainly no exception. More material in a feathered headdress than in the rest of the costume combined.
Heavily feathered costumes were soon to become a liability. About 90 min after we arrived, the weather started to turn. Wind started picking up, and it felt like a storm was on the way.
Suddenly, the feathered dancers couldn’t do anything but brace themselves against the wind. The show must go on, so the feathers must come off, fortunately most of the larger feather pieces seem to be separate from the main costume.
As the wind grew, the floats started to suffer as well. One float had to be stopped while its capping piece (a large plume of multiple feathered rings) was dismantled for safety. The next float had bigger problems, as the entire thing was a large sail, and quickly got out of the control of its pushers, swinging wildly one way, then then next. That float they had to give up on, and return to the staging area. The last straw came when that same float actually tipped over due to the wind. It was clear the plan had to change.
So, feathers out, floats out, what’s left…. Drummers! The next twenty minutes had the dancers come out with drumming groups, and it was also super fun! Nothing pre-scripted about this now, it’s just music and dancing, which was actually quite fun.
The dancing continued, the fake snow was flowing, but soon, the drummers and dancers were done, and it was only 10:30 PM, way too early by South American standards. The organizers made what we think is one of the coolest decisions ever. The started waving to people in the stands indicating that everyone should come down onto the parade runway! Everybody was confused at first, some security guards even tried to stop the first people from entering. But, it actually happened! The stands emptied and Carnaval became one big dance party!
The MC became a DJ, and the snow kept on spraying while it sprinkled rain off and on making for a slick and adventurous dance floor. Locals, other travelers like us, and many of the dancers from the parade were all singing along to pop hits while laughing in disbelief. We don’t know what a different rain plan would be, but it felt like this might have been a Carnaval first.
We danced for a couple hours, then decided around 1AM it was time to make our way home. We walk/danced the rest of the parade runway and got back to the hostel for one last surprise. The live band we met earlier was playing! We had forgotten this was a possibility, and it was great fun. They are a rock group out of Asunción. We grabbed a couple drinks from the hostel bar and settled in.
Our timing couldn’t have be better, as we sat down the rain outside picked up and became a proper rain storm. We gladly listened to the end of their show, and then just walked about 20 ft to our room for a well deserved rest. This really was an instant highlight of our trip, and we can’t recommend Carnaval in Encarnación enough.
Here are some more videos if you want to checkout even more feathers and dancing!
Good timing:-).