Get in the carnival mood for a while. Before you read this article, listen to the song above and let yourself be drawn into the carnival vibes full of fun and joy.
15km from Santa Cruz, about an hour from Lisbon is Torres Vedras town, placed in a hilly landscape of vineyards. I’m not a carnival enthusiast, but the local carnival is an experience well worth a visit. The one in Torres Vedras is famous and well known one.
The local people look forward to it every year and prepare for it long before it starts. This year it was all the more significant because after a two-year interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival returned and went straight into their hundered year’s celebration.
The carnival started on Friday afternoon with a parade of schools through the city centre and in the early evening the city was handed over to the parade kings. The fun was in full flow, with carnival music playing everywhere, the city centre filled with parades and “matrafonas” (men dressed in women’s clothes), the streets were filled with people in masks and allegorical vehicles with caricatures of politicians and public figures reflecting current affairs themes, drove around the city centre. Live music was part of it, with bands and bars alive into the early hours. The entire celebration lasted until Wednesday, when the carnival was buried, bringing it back a year later.
Carnival is a tradition here and it’s clear at first glance that it has been in the blood of the locals since birth. Do not hesitate to visit it, it is really an experience to be part of the hilarity, to see the joy and spontaneity of the locals around you.
