Dominican Carnival

The Carnival in the Dominican Republic is a Dominican celebration that takes place throughout February; although some Dominicans celebrate it during Holy Week in March, or in August. Dominicans are usually most festive on February 27th, which is the Dominican Independence Day. In Santo Domingo, celebrations include a large military display with the Dominican air force, navy, and army. Festivities often include the wearing of colorful costumes that symbolize Dominican religious and traditional characters such as Calife, Guloya, and Diablo Cojuelo. Festivities take place all over the island, with each town adding its own twist to the celebration.

The Christian slave-owners who lived on the island would let their slaves have a celebration once a year so that they could get the "wild" out of their systems. The slave-owners considered this to be a "pagan" celebration, and therefore mixed Christian traditions into it and began to celebrate the event as well.

Evidence has been found in the ruins of La Vega Vieja (near the present day La Vega) showing that Carnival has been celebrated in the Dominican Republic since the mid-1500s. The celebration originally consisted of the residents of the island dressing themselves as Moors and Christians.

Though it is not known for certain, it is thought that the colony of Santo Domingo was the first place in the Americas to have a pre-Lenten costume. The celebration became a way to escape from the rigid religious traditions brought from the old world. By the late 1700s, the carnival had become a major celebration in the colony. Then on February 27, 1844, when the Dominican Republic won its independence from Haiti, the celebration grew even greater in popularity, as the country's Independence Day celebrations were combined into the pre-existing carnival celebrations.

The celebration is symbolized by an "upside-down Chicken", and its main character is the "Diablo Cojuelo" (Limping Devil).

While there are many characters in the various versions of the carnival across the island, there are several prominent ones featured in most celebrations:

There are many ways in which the carnival is celebrated, although most celebrations have several similarities:

There are some Dominican cities that hold major parades such as:

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