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The Cadiz Carnival is celebrated by Cadiz residents on Shrove Tuesday, translated as Fat Tuesday - the day before Ash Wednesday. This usually falls on a February of the Gregorian calendar year. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the 40 days of the Lenten season for the entire Catholic community. Lent is a season ideally filled with fasting and penitence. However, prior to this sorrowful season is a grand celebration accompanied by colorful parades and masquerades; some include pageants among other forms of festivities.
The Cadiz Carnival is famous for selling creative, witty and amusing figurines as Carnival souvenirs. The traditional parades and the Carnival Queen competition are also observed in Cadiz like the rest of the towns and cities in the Andalucia province. But the allure of the Cadiz Carnival stems from its resemblance to the subversive Venice Carnival in Italy. The city of Venice was in heavy trade with Cadiz during the 16 th century when Cadiz was considered one of Spain s major ports. The style of the Venice Carnival was said to have been brought back and imitated by Cadiz dwellers who have traveled to Venice during that time.
Today the Cadiz Carnival is considered the most beautiful in mainland Spain, boasting of the liveliest and most dazzling carnival elements, sending the whole city and its visitors into a state of festival frenzy. Processions can run the entire week, from the weekend before Shrove Tuesday to the weekend after. Reminiscent of the Venice Carnival, traces of rebellion can be found in the satirical songs and the mocking short dramas performed during the parade. These performances officially compete on location at the Gran Teatro Falla , the old theater in the city of Cadiz that dates back from the 1870 s. The judged performances usually make fun of famous celebrities and other personalities regarded important by Cadiz residents.
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