Member-only story
The Colossal Satiric Puppet Floats of Viareggio Carnival 2020
What the world was thinking about right before COVID hit, in parade form
My birthday (February 18th) was getting close, and I’d resolved to spend it in Bangkok. What was unclear was how much longer I would stay on with the puppet troupe I’d joined in Germany. There was talk of forming a band among the members of the troupe, with me as lead singer, but that hadn’t coalesced by the time the show wrapped. Thus, I had a few days to kill, and nowhere in particular to go. At this same juncture, it dawned on me that Carnival was about to start. The only question remaining was: Which city?
Carnival is a worldwide phenomenon, celebrated around February-March during the season known as Shrovetide. This season culminates in Lent, when one is meant to give up one’s vices for a month; and thus has taken on a character of wild celebration and excess. Americans will know Carnival best through the Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans, and film clips of the parades and dancers in Rio de Janeiro. It’s different everywhere, but tends to involve the following aspects in varying degrees: Parades, Street Parties, Masks, Costumes, Floats, Dancers, Drum Corps, and Battles or Contests between different neighborhoods or clubs/gangs. There’s also a dark side to any proper Carnival — a…
