Carnaval

Last weekend I and ten of my friends took a bus 2 hours north of Santo Domingo to a town called La Vega where the biggest and most popular parade takes place. Carnaval is a extravagant celebration that happens every Sunday in February in Santo Domingo, Santiago, and La Vega. In the parade there are groups from most of the larger towns in the Dominican Republic. They represent themselves by wearing colorful costumes like these called diablo cojuelos (co-h-oo-eh-los). There are many different masks, music, and dances that each group does. In addition to this, each diablo carries a balloon-like object in their hands called a vejiga. If you get too close to them in the street and you're not paying attention, they will hit you in the butt as hard as they can! So you have to be very careful about where you are. It was so fun to be a part of Dominican culture! I have lots more of these pictures on facebook. Follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=197043&id=600835217