Post by Galadriel on Feb 26, 2009 16:47:26 GMT
This year I went to Aalst, a city in Belgium famous for its carnival. It lasts for three days, starting on Sunday afternoon untill Tuesday night.
Sunday the traditional parade goes through the city, with lots of decorated floats, according to the actuality. The bigger groups already start working on a new float after this weeks carnival. The music is all made by the city of Aalst, it's all parodies and satiric songs. Monday is only a parade from the carnivalists from Aalst (no strangers in the parade) and on tuesday it's "Voil Janetten" which means "dirty shemales", don't take this too serious though, all the men in Aalst are dressed up as drag queens and shemales and vice versa, women are dressed in men's wear.. It's all so over the top but funny. That way of dressing up comes from the beginning, when people were poor and didn't have anything else to wear then their wives or husbands old clothes. Because the cross dressing didn't made you very attractive, it was enough to be different for a couple of days then the rest of the year. In the evening it's the burning of the doll, to officially declare the end of carnival. Of course that goes with the mourning of the carnival lovers and the usual tears.
There is also a Prince Carnival choosen months before, that person has symbolically the keys of the city for 3 days and rules. He's also the one that lits the fire in the doll.
I will post some video's here. Enjoy!
Carnival 2009 part I
Carnival 2009 part II
Burning the doll
Sunday the traditional parade goes through the city, with lots of decorated floats, according to the actuality. The bigger groups already start working on a new float after this weeks carnival. The music is all made by the city of Aalst, it's all parodies and satiric songs. Monday is only a parade from the carnivalists from Aalst (no strangers in the parade) and on tuesday it's "Voil Janetten" which means "dirty shemales", don't take this too serious though, all the men in Aalst are dressed up as drag queens and shemales and vice versa, women are dressed in men's wear.. It's all so over the top but funny. That way of dressing up comes from the beginning, when people were poor and didn't have anything else to wear then their wives or husbands old clothes. Because the cross dressing didn't made you very attractive, it was enough to be different for a couple of days then the rest of the year. In the evening it's the burning of the doll, to officially declare the end of carnival. Of course that goes with the mourning of the carnival lovers and the usual tears.
There is also a Prince Carnival choosen months before, that person has symbolically the keys of the city for 3 days and rules. He's also the one that lits the fire in the doll.
I will post some video's here. Enjoy!
Carnival 2009 part I
Carnival 2009 part II
Burning the doll
I don't understand 99% of what the themes are supposed to be/relate to but that just looks so cool. ;D It reminds me a bit of what the circus do sometimes here when there are "arts in the streets" events.
Especially liked the burning doll and the fact that I actually understood most of the comments under the video 