Mr Carnaval

Last month I wrote about Carnaval in Limoux, the annual celebration that runs for three months and draws locals and tourists alike. Well, this colourful festival concluded for the year on Sunday, and we took the opportunity to witness what we are sure we will never see again in our lives.

Since I wrote about Carnaval back in February, I have learnt more about this event. At the very first procession of the festival in January, the group who dances through the town square brings with them 'Mr Carnaval'; a formally dressed straw mannequin.

Mr Carnaval takes up his post at a table and chair set to the side of the square, and remains there throughout the three months, seeming to preside over the activities. It is not until the end of the very last procession in March that Mr Carnaval has another active part in the celebration, however this role is not nearly as pleasant.

Mr Carnaval oversaw the festivities of Carnaval

The celebration on the last night of Carnaval

Marty and I ventured into town after his Sunday afternoon game to meet up with some friends and wait around for the end of the Carnaval procession, which started at 10pm. We saw the group dancing toward their last stop so we joined the crowds that were huddled under the awnings to avoid the rain. The most noticeable differences in this group from others we had seen over the months were that they were comprised of representatives of various groups, not just one, and they were led in by torch bearers holding flames.

Marty with Vince in costume

As we watched the group dancing past to the beat of the band, I recognised some of the costumes from the procession I had watched in February where I was covered in confetti by a member of the group who recognised me. This same person, dressed in his white and red outfit, approached Marty and I and said 'hello Marty!' before dancing on.

We discussed who it could be, and came to the conclusion that it must be Vince, a man who is involved with the football club and has assisted us and other foreign players with life here on occasion. We watched on as the music ended and the dancers mingled. Vince approached us and confirmed our suspicions that it was him.

The crowd began to move to the centre of the square where a stage had been set up, and took up our place on the outside of a barricade that marked out a square next to the stage. In the middle of the square was a fire pit, with Mr Carnaval strapped to a chair in the middle.

A lot of effort goes into the costumes!

The music began again as the Carnaval procession moved inside the barricaded area. Those in costume danced in and stood near the stage, as people dressed up in full costume to be a judge and jury members assumed their place on the stage. The judge and jury then proceeded to read from scripts in Occitan, a language used in southern France, Italy and surrounding regions. While we couldn't understand the language, we were told that the judge and jury were reading through all of the wrong-doings or failures of the last year since Mr Carnaval was last in Limoux, and blaming them all on him, including the less than impressive season that the Limoux Grizzlies last year.

Following this play, which took about 20 minutes, the band started up again and those in costume formed a circle around the fire pit. They skipped and danced around in the circle as the music was upbeat, and stopped to kneel when the music turned sombre. After some time of this, the men who led the Carnaval procession with torches stepped forward and lit up the fire pit, with the revellers all stopping to watch Mr Carnaval burn.

Mr Carnaval in the fire pit about to meet his fate

We could hardly believe what we were seeing in this small town in the middle of nowhere, in the south of France, at 1.30am on a Sunday night. As if knowing that it would be hard for us to describe, and even harder for you to imagine, we filmed some of the activities to give you an idea of what went on. 

So Carnaval has ended for the year. Without missing a beat though, there is a big annual wine and food festival being held this weekend, as if to ensure that the locals have events to keep them interested, and tourists have a reason to keep visiting. So far this year we have not seen evidence of the sleepy little town we thought Limoux was when we first arrived, and we are loving it!