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The last day of Carnival was on Tuesday and was celebrated with parades, street parties, and a large costume festival in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Party-goers wearing capes, wigs, spandex, and feathers boogied in front of St. Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square as lively Latin music played.

Two parades with rich traditions traveled through the Uptown neighborhood and into the business district on Canal Street, away from the narrow streets of the quarter. The first parade was led by the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, featuring participants in African-inspired attire who handed out the club’s iconic gift – hand-decorated coconuts that have been a tradition for over 100 years.

Eventually, Rex, the monarch of Mardi Gras, paraded down St. Charles Avenue, pausing to raise a symbolic glass in front of a significant downtown establishment alongside Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Can you explain what Mardi Gras is?

Mardi Gras — or Fat Tuesday — is a secular holiday, but it’s tied to Christian and Roman Catholic traditions. It always falls the day before Ash Wednesday and is seen as a final day of feasting and revelry before the solemnity of Lent.

Brazil, the Caribbean, and Europe are internationally recognized.

Carnival in Brazil

The Brazilian Carnival has a vibrant and rich past. In Brazil, a usual Carnival day begins at 7 a.m. with the first blocos, which are lively street parties, parading through the city’s streets with music and bright costumes.

Musicians playing drums, walking on stilts, trumpeting, and other performers, all adorned and coated in glitter, draw in crowds of thousands of fans.

Blocos are thematic, inspiring the costumes and songs of their followers. In Rio alone, the city authorized 500 street parties this year.

After the various street celebrations, which typically conclude in the evening, some partygoers head to the Sambadrome, where samba schools march and vie for the yearly championship.

The dancers at the Rio de Janeiro Carnival this year honored Brazil’s biggest Indigenous community while also urging President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to fulfill his commitments to eliminate illegal mining.

For a while now, Carnival has served as a means for samba schools to express their dissent. During the Sunday evening parade at the Sambadrome, percussionists displayed the phrase “Miners out” on the surface of their drums, conveying their message to over 70,000 spectators and millions of viewers watching live on TV.

Each city has its unique Carnival customs. Revelers in traditional costumes filled the streets of Sao Paulo for what’s known as the Galo da Madrugada, or Dawn Rooster, parade.

Source: cbsnews.com