I grab another bottle of Brugal rum, a few more Dominican cigars and play music so loud it would make my chickens explode. Cigar ash is all over my shirt and I replaced water with Presidente beer a week ago. Carnival is almost here.  It’s 7am and the early morning scooters and thunderous growl of diesel trucks are replaced by cold, quiet air. I open my eyes, briefly forgetting that I’m alone and in the middle of snow covered woods thousands of miles away.  There is no adventure in trying to recreate the Carnival experience no matter how rum soaked my brain is or how many Dominican cigars I smoke.

People dressed in elaborate costumes, the music, sirens and underlying rumble of a million conversations, the hot humid air and not knowing what can happen next; nothing can compare to the energy of something as alive as Carnival.  The nights silence and the ceaselessly cold edge of the Midwest air this time of year can make you physically withdraw, allowing you the stillness other times won’t to wander through memories of the past.

For cigar lovers, the Procigar festival has always been around the same time as their carnival.  If you are planning on going to Procigar, I would highly recommend planning your trip to come in early (or stay late depending on the dates) to experience Carnival.  The majority of Procigar is held in Santiago, which is where the biggest celebrations of carnival are also held.

When I visited the Dominican Republic in 2007 I was fascinated by the masks of Carnival.  I visited the DR often but was never able to participate in their Carnival. In 2011 I went to the ProCigar Festival for the first time and had the fortune to visit Guillermo León’s house for a dinner where they featured some of the entertainers of Carnival. We were even given favors of miniature masks.  I asked questions and learned that in Santiago there was a parade every Saturday and Sunday in the month of February, but the last Sunday of the festival is the biggest. I was leaving Saturday morning so I vowed that I would see Carnival – the next time.

Fast forward to 2013 for the annual ProCigar Festival which was held, as it always is, in February. This time I extended my stay until Monday so I wouldn’t miss it (check dates as it can vary from year to year).  That particular year, one of the tours that I went on was to the Centro León Museum where Michelle Marcelino was our representative from ProCigar at the time, taking us to and from the museum and to lunch at El Tablon Latino.  Michelle filled me in on what I was going to see and hear during Carnival. Now I wanted to experience it even more.

There is a huge stage where of the people in costumes begin.  There is some seating there if you can figure out a way – or know someone to let you in there.  At first, we were watching everything on the stage but soon realized the parade went further so we followed it down the street. It stretched further than the eye could see.  The place was crazy with people. I can only compare it to Mardi Gras in New Orleans where when I walked into the crowd my feet never touched the ground. There isn’t the craziness of the French Quarter though. Carnaval is much more family oriented.  I’m not saying it isn’t crazy because it is much bigger and goes on forever but the crowds are there to have fun and not get totally wasted.

People start working their way into the street so the lechones (pig eaters – pictured here) will stop and start swinging their ropes in mock fights with each other to get the crowds back on the sidewalks. The little lechones (children) hit young, cute women on their backsides in play to get a reaction, which of course they did. Everyone laughed as the women would jump from surprise. On top of all this, there is music everywhere, of all types, pounding through your chest.  The parade started at 3:30 in the afternoon and when we managed to escape the crowds at 8 pm it was still going strong. I was exhausted and completely satisfied with my experience.

Taking the photos in Santiago (Dom. Rep.) for our first carnival cover feature are some of my favorite memories.  I held up my camera and waved to a person in one of the costumes and he came over to pose for a picture.  To my surprise the voice behind the mask had a New York accent.  He was a Dominican born, American citizen living in New York City who flew back every year toparticipate in his family’s carnival traditions.

“Thank you, thank you for being here we need to spread the word.  We just have to keep the tradition alive.” He said, “Listen, you really need to check out La Vega, but be careful, it’s dangerous.” He slipped the mask back over his face and was carried away with the momentum of the street.

Eventually, we made it to La Vega’s Carnival celebration.  That trip became a lot more than we could have imagined and it was everything we had been warned about. The energy was the same as Santiago’s Carnival, but it was entirely different, darker vibe.

Check out our La Vega Carnival experience here:  https://cigarpress.com/carnival-la-vega/