Carnaval(Karnaval) içinde 🇵🇹 Portekiz

Portuguese Carnival, or Entrudo, has a long history dating back to the Middle Ages, with traditions that range from refined urban parades to rowdy rural customs. The period before Lent is marked by celebrations across the country, with each region contributing its own distinctive flavor to the festivities.

Torres Vedras, north of Lisbon, claims to host the most Portuguese Carnival in the country, focusing on satire, popular humor, and community participation rather than imported Brazilian-style spectacle. Giant caricature heads of politicians parade through the streets, satirical groups perform biting commentary, and the atmosphere is irreverent and democratic. The tradition of the matrafonas, men dressed in exaggerated female costumes, adds to the subversive humor.

Loule in the Algarve hosts one of the oldest Carnival celebrations in Portugal, with a tradition dating back over a century. The parade features elaborate allegorical floats and is notable for its artistic quality and community craftsmanship. The Carnival of Ovar, near Aveiro, is one of the most colorful, with parades that rival those of larger cities. Podence in Tras-os-Montes features the Caretos, mysterious masked figures in colorful costumes who run through the village shaking cowbells and chasing visitors.

Traditional Portuguese Carnival foods include filhoses (thin fried pastries), coscoroes (crispy fried dough), sonhos (dreams, similar to doughnuts), and farturas (churro-like treats). Older Entrudo traditions involved water battles and the throwing of eggs, flour, and even chamber pot contents at passersby, a practice that has been tamed in modern times but lives on in some rural communities. Portuguese Carnival maintains a distinctly local character that resists the homogenizing influence of globalized carnival culture.

Pre-Lenten festival celebrated with parades, masquerades, music, and dancing in the days before Ash Wednesday, most famously in Rio de Janeiro, Venice, and New Orleans.