It’s Karnaval! (Part 1)

Any way you spell it, Carnival / Carnaval / Karnaval season has definitely arrived in Haiti. While the official celebration in Port-au-Prince is still a week away (the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday), there are lots of smaller celebrations happening all over the place. Yesterday , a few friends and I headed down to the beach town of Jacmel to experience their “old school” style Karnaval. It features children and young people masquerading as all sorts of animals, plants and creatures by day and an incredible street party by night. Here are some photos. I’ll provide some more background on Haitian Carnaval history and culture during next week's big celebrations here in Port-au-Prince.