Cozumel Carnival (spelled Carnaval in Spanish) is one of the islands main events. It happens at the peak of high season when the weather is at its finest. Festivities attract thousands of people from all corners of the world. It starts the week before Fat Tuesday, or Mardi-Gras. The origins of Carnival are unclear, but most agree that it started as a pagan celebration in ancient Rome, or Greece. Balls were imported from Italy in the late nineteenth century, and had their golden era in the thirties, with legendary balls at the Copacabana Palace, and the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro.
There’s much more to this extravaganza than the Parades. Street dancers randomly roam through town. It is loads of fun, free, and it happens all over the island. You are more than welcome to watch and participate. Besides the fun of a great Parade, there is live music, food, drinks and every manner of distraction in the town square. With so many people gathered together to have a great time how can you go wrong?! For more Cozumel Carnival Pictures see “Cozumel Carnival – The Greatest Show on Earth” in the Cozumel Attractions section of The Cozumel Sun.
Courtesy of Bob Rodriguez. Cozumel Mexico .net 2014.
Photos of the First Parade of the 2012 Cozumel Carnaval
Perfect weather, great music (mostly), dancing girls and boys, beads and candy. That sums up the first parade of Cozumel’s Carnaval, the 140th year (according to most estimates).
The final parade is Tuesday night. A few parade watching tips. The parade starts at Av 11 and Melgar, proceeds north in the northbound lane of Melgar to Airport road and comes back south on Melgar in the southbound lane. So, if you set up next to the curb in a chair, be aware that people will stand in the median to watch and will block your view. For photos, I like being near the Museo. It does take longer for the parade to reach you, but the Museo makes a better photo background than Mega. The other advantage is being close to Guido’s so you can get a take out pizza while waiting for the parade to finally arrive (7:30 Saturday night).
One of the highlights of Carnaval is Paulina Rubio at Moby Dick tonight, Monday, if you are lucky enough to have tickets.
The fun of Cozumel Carnival awaits you and we look forward to your arrival!
So, It (Cozumel Carnaval) starts the week before Fat Tuesday (March 1st)
Is there an official day(s) that the biggest events take place? I would think that the Saturday Feb 26 and Sunday Feb 27 would be the big day and where should we go to participate in the biggest of parades. I want to fly in some family members to see the event. Thanks…. gds
There are usually three parades. The first two are local floats and participants. These lead up to the third and final parade on the last day (I assume Sunday). This last one is the largest and has out of town floats and participants. So if you cant make all three, make the last parade!