Vilanova i la Geltrú Carnival

Carnival in Vilanova i la Geltrú has a long tradition. Everyone who wishes to participate in the acts that compose it: the Merengada, the Arrivo, the Shawl Dance, the Comparsa, the Xatonada, the Caramel...

The Government of the Generalitat reclassified, in 2010, as a Heritage Festival of National Interest the Carnival of Vilanova i la Geltrú, declared a traditional festival of national interest in 1985.

The Carnival of Vilanova i la Geltrú is documented in 1790. Prohibited by the Franco authorities, it was recovered in the street in 1955, a recovery that was completed between 1976 and 1981, maintaining the same scheme of the carnivals of the second half of the century XIX.

Carnival week

• Mantons dance and musical competitions: The Vilanova Carnival begins on the Saturday before Fat Thursday with the so-called "Mantons Dances", which are celebrated by the various entities that participate in the organization of the Carnival. These are gala balls that are attended by men with American jackets and women with the traditional Manila shawl. The following day, the Musical Competitions take place, an artistic confrontation between the Band of the Maestro Montserrat Music School of the city and an invited band.
• La Merengada: On Thursday Lardero the children's party of La Merengada is celebrated, which arose from a more or less spontaneous idea of a Vilanovina pastry shop, which planted a giant meringue in front of its store, and in the middle of the street. The idea was that the youngest would smear each other with that meringue.
• El Arrivo: On Friday the Arrivo is celebrated, a parade headed by the Baile de Diablos de Vilanova and the dragons of the city and made up of hundreds of masks grouped by societies, which represents the reception of King Carnival, who, in the Plaza de la Vila, delivers the "Sermón", which is a critical and humorous review of the most outstanding events of recent months. At night, the Bailes del Arrivo are organized, the first of the Carnival masked balls.
• Saturday "mascarots": On Saturday morning the performances of the "Malcasats" Dance begin, made up of a procession of masks that parody several married couples with problems and the authorities that judge them.
• Sunday of Comparsa: The central day of the festival is Carnival Sunday, with Les Comparses, an emblematic act of massive participation. It is the parade of a large number of couples behind the flag of their society jumping to the rhythm of a very popular march called El Turuta. As they jump, a large amount of candies are thrown between the different troupes and the audience that watches them. The men wear barretinas and dress in the uniform of each society and the women wear a skirt, one or two carnations on their heads and a Manila shawl.
• Choir Monday: On Monday afternoon, the Paperet Ball takes place in the Plaza de la Vila, where children enjoy the music and the show full of pieces of paper that fly through the air. After the children's dance of the little paper, at night, the city rediscovers the most authentic pulse of the Vilanoví Carnival. And it is time for the Carnival Choirs.
• Vidalot Tuesday: In recent years, initiatives have been carried out that have revived the night of Shrove Tuesday, such as the costume contest, the Cuyna Vella Giants parade, two giants representing a cook and a cook, the Vidalot route, or the Vidalot concert, which extend the Carnival until well into the early hours of the morning.
• Ash Wednesday: Ash Wednesday closes the Carnival, with the Burial of the Sardine and the reading of the Carnival King's Testament, in which the most outstanding events of the Carnival that is ending are reviewed, in a critical and ironic key. The event, which is organized by a different entity each year, closes with a popular meal based on grilled herring in the same square.