8 best places in Latin America and the Caribbean to celebrate Carnival

13.12.2024 - 14:31 / lonelyplanet.com / Ash Wednesday

Dec 12, 2024 • 6 min read

More than 50 countries across the world host Carnival, but it's in Latin America and the Caribbean that you will find its beating heart. Here, the parties and parades keep people shaking their tailfeather until dawn.

But with so many options to choose from – and events scattered across much of the year – it's hard to know where to begin. Luckily, there is a Carnival for everyone. So whether you love vibrant music, historical significance, mouth-watering food, ground-shaking parades or long days on the beach, you're covered. These are the eight best Carnivals in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Best for history

Dates: Monday before Ash Wednesday (March 3-4, 2025)

Known as the "Greatest Show on Earth," Trinidad Carnival is one of the most popular carnivals in the Americas. With beautiful costumes and huge parties, expect to hear plenty of soca (an offshoot of calypso) and steel-pan music, both of which were invented in Trinidad.

Carnival here is also best known for its traditional storytelling, featuring characters like Dame Lorraine, the Midnight Robber, and the Blue Devil. Dame Lorraine is imitative mas (short for masquerade), which began with French planters dressing up as aristocracy in the 18th and 19th centuries and parading in groups at private homes.

The Midnight Robber is an act derived from African storytelling traditions and uses distinctive "robber talk" that is extravagant, egocentric and boastful. The Blue Devil, meanwhile, is a type of jab (patois for "devil") who hails from the Paramin region of Trinidad, and it takes to the streets to menace and scare festival participants (all in good fun, though!).

Attendees interested in history can also catch Canboulay reenactments that depict Trinidad's historical events. The island's enslaved people were freed in 1834 and were technically allowed to celebrate Carnival following emancipation, but the British government and the local police force continued to shut down the festival, which resulted in the 1881 riots. The pageant portrays the local population's efforts to prevent the suppression of Canboulay celebrations with flambeaux (flaming torches), African drumming, tamboo bamboo (a percussion instrument that predated the steel pan), and stick-fighting (an African martial art).

Best for music

Dates: February 28 to March 5, 2025

Brazil is home to two major Carnivals: one in Salvador and the other in Rio de Janeiro. While both share similar traditions, they remain true to each city's culture. Salvador's Carnival is fueled by axé, a regional musical genre inspired by African and Brazilian pop.

The best way to enjoy the music is to participate in one of the street parties, the highlight of these being the trio elétrico, a large