Carnival

At the end of February we celebrate Carnival, which has been revived with much enthusiasm during the past few years. During the first weekend, we present the Carnival Queens and Princesses in the Capitol Theatre, the coronation of the Queens, the proclamation of the events and performances of choirs and carnival groups singing satirical songs (comparsas, chirigotas, cuartetos) that entertain the public with their humour, satire and ingenuity. Even if you don’t catch all the jokes and allusions, it’s a spectacle well worth seeing. Co-inciding with the first Friday of Carnival, in the 90s, we celebrated a Flour Festival, an activity that had its origin in carnivals at the beginning of the last century and took place on Ash Wednesday, when they threw flour at each other. Nowadays this has disappeared.

The following weekend there is the street procession where everybody takes part, in costume, both the participants in the theatre groups and individuals and families, dancing and singing along the streets and ending up at the marquee in the centre where we dance all night. The festivities conclude with Funeral for the Chorizo (the emblem of Cortegana), which commemorates the death of Lord Carnival, and draws the fun to a close with a chorizo feast, thanks to the generosity of the sausage and ham producers in our town.

Carnival is also celebrated in the outlying villages of Valdelamusa, San Telmo and La Corte