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Culture

Art, feeling and tradition

Carnaval de Fuentes de Andalucía

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This carnival has been declared an Andalusian Festival of Tourist Interest. 

The people of Fuentes de Andalucía wanted to revive the traditional local carnival without foreign influence. It has become the only carnival in the province and the region that and becoming the only carnival in the province and the community that combines characteristics maintained since the early twentieth century despite being censored during Franco’s dictatorship. 

The Fuentes de Andalucía Carnival begins on the weekend before Lent with the so-called “Jueves Lardero” when families gather to eat and spend the day together. The most typical costume is the so-called “máscara”, which consists of changing one’s physical appearance to the point that one is unrecognisable. People use pillows and rags for this purpose and even speak with a “falsetto” to achieve total anonymity.

Another peculiar feature of this carnival is the “murgas”, groups of neighbours who, accompanied by a bass drum and a “cajón”, a percussion instrument, sing “coplas” describing the most relevant local events of the past year.

The “entornao” is the typical Carnival sweet. A dessert made from flour, water, sesame, sugar, cinnamon and ground pepper, which gives it the characteristic orange colour. 

The Fontaniego Carnival and “Carrera Street”, one of the main thoroughfares in Fuentes de Andalucía, are synonymous. Most events during carnival take place here. This is where the “máscaras” parade with their rags and peculiar falsetto. It is an open-air stage where everyone is a star. 

Different studies of the Fontaniego Carnival show that the earliest known traditional carnival organised here was in the early 20th century. The festival ends on Piñata Sunday with the Burning of the “Entornao”.
 

Approximate date
Final de Febrero-principios de marzo

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