Calendar of major festivals for 2000
March 4-7: Rio Carnival -music, singing and dancing in the streets and on the beaches, culminating in a spectacular samba school parade on March 5-6. (Carnival is also celebrated in Salvador in Brazil and throughout South America).
April 21-24: Holy Week in Guatemala – an Easter procession, which is particularly good in the old capital of Antigua where the streets are decorated with flowers.
June 24: Inti Raymi – the Inca festival of the Sun God held during the winter solstice in Cuzco, Peru. A pageant is enacted in an ancient ruin at 1pm. This is proceeded by religious processions through Cuzco on June 22.
November 1: Day of the Dead – held throughout Latin America but a popular place to witness the celebrations is the colonial city of Oaxaca in Mexico.
November 8-14: Festival of the Gauchos – held in San Antoni de Areco, 94 miles southeast of Buenos Aires in Argentina. It involves a parade of gauchos (cowboys) demonstrating their horsemanship.
CARNIVAL in Rio de Janeiro is one of South America’s major spectacles, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year.
Beginning on the Friday before Shrove Tuesday, it is an excuse for a massive five-day party, with organised samba music and dancing through the streets and on the beaches. There are also competitions, fancy dress balls in the hotels – ranging from the sophisticated to the wild – and numerous exhibitions throughout the city.
South American Experience director David Gilmour said: “The atmosphere in Rio at this time is really buzzing. A good place to be is on Ipanema or Copacabana beach where there are some superb parties.”
The highlight of the carnival is the spectacular parade of samba schools which takes place on two consecutive nights in the purpose-built 60,000-seat Sambodromo stadium. Tickets for the all-night-long party cost about £200 a head when booked through a UK operator.
Hotel beds are also in short supply at this time of year, and visitors can expect to pay at least three times the usual rate for a room during carnival.
Though Rio steals the limelight, it is not the only city to celebrate carnival. There are less glitzy, but some would say more authentic, celebrations in towns and cities throughout the continent at this time of year.
Salvador, in northeast Brazil, is famous for its carnival which takes place on the streets and is more accessible to the general public than the extravagant parades and parties of Rio.
Gareth Lyons of Latin America Travel said:”Everyone goes crazy but the whole thing is very well organised. There are floats and dancing with some of the best music in Brazil.”
Although room rates in Salvador also go up for Carnival, they are not nearly as expensive as in Rio.
“It is just as difficult to get rooms though, so you have to book early,” added Lyons.
Carnival usually falls during February or early March, but whatever time of year clients are travelling they have a good chance of finding a festival.
Some of the most well publicised are the Day of the Dead in Mexico, the Inca festival of Inti Raymi in Peru, Holy Week in Guatemala and the Gaucho Festival in Argentina.
Inti Raymi is one of the most visually spectacular festivals. It is held in the Inca capital of Cuzco every year to celebrate the winter solstice.
On the night before Inti Raymi the main square of Cuzco is filled with processions and packed with food stalls. On the day itself, a pageant is enacted at the fortress of Sacsayhuaman. Tickets for the pageant cost between £50-£60 when purchased through a UK operator.
The Day of the Dead in Mexico is another festival which has become popular with British visitors. The celebrations centre on the picturesque city of Oaxaca.
Trips Worldwide manager Hamish MacCall said:”We have seen quite a lot of interest in the Day of the Dead. The cost of going to Mexico at this time is no higher than usual but, because of high demand, getting rooms is difficult.”
Latin festival operators
Trips Worldwide: offers clients visiting Mexico during All Souls Day (Day of the Dead)a four-day excursion to Isla Janitzio where all-night candlelit vigils are held on a lake. The ground tour costs from £480 including accommodation, transfers, tours and entrance fees.
Journey Latin America: 14-day escorted tour of Peru takes in the Inti Raymi festival in June next year. The Garza tour from Lima to Puno costs £2,186, including flights from the UK, accommodation, transfers and services of a guide.
Kuoni: five-day trip to Rio during Carnival costs £749 for flights and accommodation at the Luxor Continental hotel, with a £90 supplement per room, per night, from March 1-7. Tickets for the Sambodromo cost between £140 and £250.