Mardi Gras a rich, colourful tradition
Crawling behind two police cruisers along a back road in rural Louisiana one February morning was a truly weird procession.
First came a truck-drawn flatbed carrying a liquored-up band playing Cajun music, several photographers and travel writers and a cage containing two live chickens. Behind were scores of costumed men wearing odd hats, their faces painted [...]
Rio Carnival > Swings so cool, sways so gently
Wanted to see the Rio Carnival from inside a favela, rather than the more upmarket Ipanema. My wish remains unfulfilled, but that won’t stop me trying again.
Butterfly woman is always grateful when Carnival comes round.
“It will cost you about 1250 euro to get in. That includes a meal, translator and of course security” my contact explains over [...]
Sydney and Mardi Gras
In North America, February marks the very heart of winter, and for much of the continent, this means chilly weather and dark, gloomy days. This is not the case on the other side of the world, in Sydney, Australia, the hippest and hottest gay destination in the southern hemisphere. Here, February marks the height of [...]
Famous Venice carnival
Pre-Lenten carnivals are celebrated in many places around the world, from Trinidad to Rio de Janeiro to New Orleans’ famed Mardi Gras and to Patras in Greece.
But Venice claims to have the oldest carnival tradition, with laws establishing the holiday dating back to the 13th century.
Every year, the Venice carnival, known for elaborate masks and [...]
