Carnival Masks & Costumes Exibition In POP

[Ken]

From today's Sosua News:

[h=5][/h]
[h=5]Together with the carnival celebrations, which go on throughout the month of February, including in Puerto Plata, there is an exhibition about the carnival. In Casa de Cultura in Puerto Plata recently an exhibition of masks and clothing has been opened. The tradition of these masks and clothing goes back to the original inhabitants of the island, the Taino Indians. Casa de Cultura is open every day during office hours and is located in Calla Separaci?n 22, right on the Town Hall Square.[/h]

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[umeafdb]

Decoding Puerto Plata's Carnival

The exhibition at the Casa de Cultura (opposite central park in Puerto Plata) lets us decode some of the symbolis in the elaborate costumes that we can see on the Melacon during the Sunday parades that take place during February. As illustrated by the different types of costumes/masks on display there were six major "tribes" symbolizing the days of the Tainos. Traditionally the central character of the Dominican Carnival was Diablo Conjuelo (the limping devil/angel) but in Puerto Plata this character is now called "Taimascaro", a word composed ot "Tai" for the Tainos and "masaro" meaning masks , which so dominate the costumes. All the costumes are very colorful and remind us of the origins of Dominican cultural history.. The shirts symbolize the Spanish culture, the cloaks worn over them symbolize the Taino natives, and the colorful ribbons and mirrors represent the African cultures while the pants with seashells (and sometimes today bottle caps and bells) stand for Neptune, god of the sea.
While not large the exhibit is definitely worth a visit. There is a small leaflet in Spanish and English that explains the exhibit. Admission is free and the hours are Monday to Friday 9 to 12 & 2 to 4, Saturdays and Sunday it is open from 3 to 6:30 pm. Additional information can be found at The Meeting Place in Puerto Plata.

By the way, on Sunday afternoons there is a children's Carnival in Central Park with face-painting, plays, and bouncey toys. The action on the Melacon for adults does not really get into swing until quite late in the afternoon/evening on Sundays

 

[johnnj2000]

When does puerto plata have there parade and festivities for inpendencia? can you give me a time and date? Im arriving the 26th of febuary and will not be up north until around the 28th , will I have missed all the parties?

 

[london777]

The exhibition at the Casa de Cultura (opposite central park in Puerto Plata) lets us decode some of the symbolis in the elaborate costumes that we can see on the Melacon during the Sunday parades that take place during February. As illustrated by the different types of costumes/masks on display there were six major "tribes" symbolizing the days of the Tainos. Traditionally the central character of the Dominican Carnival was Diablo Conjuelo (the limping devil/angel) but in Puerto Plata this character is now called "Taimascaro", a word composed ot "Tai" for the Tainos and "masaro" meaning masks , which so dominate the costumes. All the costumes are very colorful and remind us of the origins of Dominican cultural history.. The shirts symbolize the Spanish culture, the cloaks worn over them symbolize the Taino natives, and the colorful ribbons and mirrors represent the African cultures while the pants with seashells (and sometimes today bottle caps and bells) stand for Neptune, god of the sea.
While not large the exhibit is definitely worth a visit. There is a small leaflet in Spanish and English that explains the exhibit. Admission is free and the hours are Monday to Friday 9 to 12 & 2 to 4, Saturdays and Sunday it is open from 3 to 6:30 pm. Additional information can be found at The Meeting Place in Puerto Plata.

By the way, on Sunday afternoons there is a children's Carnival in Central Park with face-painting, plays, and bouncey toys. The action on the Melacon for adults does not really get into swing until quite late in the afternoon/evening on Sundays

Wish I had noticed this post sooner.

I accompanied an American friend and his capitale?a gf to the square and Malecon late Sunday afternoon. There were a couple of bored teenagers minding the exhibition but no-one offered me a leaflet and none were in sight.

Parque Central was like a morgue. Nothing going on. Some tiguere tried to charge me 200 pesos for my 4-year-old to enter the (very small) bouncy castle, because that is what was printed on the ticket.

We adjourned to the Malecon. Hundreds of people milling about in colorful costumes and many hundreds of spectators, but none of our group (including the dominicana) could find out what the timetable was, even from those who appeared to be organizing groups. After a couple of hours of nothing happening we left.

What a touristic opportunity wasted! That sort of thing makes me laugh when the apologists post on here about stimulating tourism on the North Coast. They haven't got the faintest idea on how to promote their (few) assets.

The capitale?a was very scathing about her campesino compatriots from Pto Pta.