Representative masks of all the country’s ethnic groups star in the Bissau Carnival parades<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>In Europe we are used to carnival parades in which costumes act as masks to escape from reality, or to make a veiled criticism of society.<\/p>\n
However, in Guinea Bissau the carnival party<\/strong> is one of its most authentic cultural manifestations, since it shows the essence of its ethnographic<\/strong> richness as it is.<\/p>\nThe streets of Bissau<\/strong> are filled with people from all over the country, and from some of the 88 islands of the Bijag\u00f3 archipelago, to participate in the greatest artistic representation of Guinean culture<\/strong>.<\/p>\nPreparations for the carnival begin 3 or 4 months before the date it takes place. In the alleys of the city’s neighborhoods, children and young people begin to prepare the masks. At this moment, a hasty collection of paper begins all at once. The paper sacks that wrap the cement dust for the works and that are already empty scattered along the street are perfect. It is the best raw material to shape the masks, the paper stained with traces of dust together with water gives the perfect combination to have a malleable material, which will later be very hard when it dries. Each one puts their hands and their ideas about the character or characters to represent and they agree among themselves.<\/p>\n
“Then get to work! They knead the paper and shape it”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"hipopotamo](\"https:\/\/www.orangohotel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/carnaval-guinea-bissau.jpg\" "\\"carnaval-guinea-bissau\\"")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>The elaboration of the masks takes months, it is a team effort and everyone contributes their grain of sand. The prizes awarded by the government to the best mask, at the end of the carnival, motivate each and every one of them, since these are prizes that can reach 2 or 3 million CFA francs, which would be equivalent to between 3,000 and 4,500 euro.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
In Europe we are used to carnival parades in which costumes act as masks to escape from reality, or to make a veiled criticism of society.<\/p>\n
However, in Guinea Bissau the carnival party<\/strong> is one of its most authentic cultural manifestations, since it shows the essence of its ethnographic<\/strong> richness as it is.<\/p>\n The streets of Bissau<\/strong> are filled with people from all over the country, and from some of the 88 islands of the Bijag\u00f3 archipelago, to participate in the greatest artistic representation of Guinean culture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Preparations for the carnival begin 3 or 4 months before the date it takes place. In the alleys of the city’s neighborhoods, children and young people begin to prepare the masks. At this moment, a hasty collection of paper begins all at once. The paper sacks that wrap the cement dust for the works and that are already empty scattered along the street are perfect. It is the best raw material to shape the masks, the paper stained with traces of dust together with water gives the perfect combination to have a malleable material, which will later be very hard when it dries. Each one puts their hands and their ideas about the character or characters to represent and they agree among themselves.<\/p>\n “Then get to work! They knead the paper and shape it”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> The elaboration of the masks takes months, it is a team effort and everyone contributes their grain of sand. The prizes awarded by the government to the best mask, at the end of the carnival, motivate each and every one of them, since these are prizes that can reach 2 or 3 million CFA francs, which would be equivalent to between 3,000 and 4,500 euro.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![](\"https:\/\/www.orangohotel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/guinea-carnaval.jpg\" "\\"guinea-carnaval\\"")
<\/span><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/www.orangohotel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/guinea-bissau-carnaval.jpg\" "\\"guinea-bissau-carnaval\\"")
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