"Carnaval in La Vega Dominican Republic" Provincia de La Vega by dr-tourist

February is Carnaval month in the Dominican Republic and La Vega is the place for Carnaval celebration.

I have been to Carnaval in La Vega 2 times so far. In 2002 I was In Santiago on business and decided to spend sunday in La Vega at Carnaval.

So I show up in La Vega and it appears I am one of the few if not the only gringo around! I am carrying a little camcorder, and of course sticking out like a sore thumb! I had decided that to show that I was not new to the DR, I would wear my baseball jersey for the team "Licey".

Little did I know, that NOBODY in La Vega likes Licey! They are the "enemy"! I was doing the equivalent of wearing a Red Sox jersey at Yankee stadium!

Carnaval was a different experience. The streets were closed off and there was just wild partying in the streets. Drinking, Dancing, Parades, drinking, live music, drinking. . . . have I mentioned Drinking? ;-)

So in 2003 I decided to return to Carnaval in La Vega with my novia Cari and shoot some video for my website. I shot a bunch of video and it was sort of difficult with all the crowds and partying, did I mention the drinking?

One tradition of Carnaval is for the people to dress up in Carnaval outfits and masks, and sneak up behind you to whack you in the butt with a plastic "ghourd". Some of these guys hit quite hard!

So between, the crowds, did I mention the drinking?, the people whacking me in the butt while I filmed, and protecting my novia from similar "sneak attacks", I was able to piece together a little montage that shows the flavor of Carnaval in La Vega.

I want to add one more thing to this chapter. I recieved a message asking if Carnaval is every year? Yes! It certainly is! If you are in the DR during the month of February, you must see Carnaval. La Vega is the best place to see it but most towns have Carnaval celebrations as well.

I posted the video clip on www.dr-tourist.tv so people can get a taste of Carnaval.

If you have broadband:

<a href="http://www.dr-tourist.tv/pages/videopages/carnaval.html">Carnaval 2003 La Vega Broadband</a>

for dialup:

<a href="http://www.dr-tourist.tv/pages/videopages/carnaval_dialup.html">Carnaval 2003 La Vega Dial Up</a>