Cádiz Carnival

The Cádiz Carnival is documented from the late 16th century, and the City Council records references to the festival in 1632. The long presence of Genoese merchants in the city from the 15th century left an Italian mark on masks, confetti and, above all, fancy dress. In the 19th century the festival centred on plaza de San Antonio and calle Ancha, with masked balls and groups of costumed residents singing in the streets, the forerunners of today's groups.

In 1861 mayor Juan Valverde proposed that the City Council should organise the carnival, and from 1862 it became part of the municipal festive calendar and budget. In 1937 carnival was banned by decree. In Cádiz it survived through its songs: in 1948 a choir was allowed to sing and around 1950 the Fiestas Típicas Gaditanas were born, a carnival in all but name. In 1977 it recovered its name and its February dates, in 1980 it was declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest, and in 2019 the Andalusian Government listed it as a Site of Cultural Interest in the category of ethnological activity.

Today it is organised by the City Council through its Festivals and Carnival Department. At its heart is the Official Competition of Carnival Groups (COAC) at the Gran Teatro Falla, with four categories: choirs (coros), comparsas, chirigotas and quartets (cuartetos). After the final come the street days, with the opening speech, choir carousels, parades and the burning of the Bruja Piti.

The competition takes place at the Gran Teatro Falla, in plaza de Fragela. In the streets the festival fills the whole old town: the opening speech and many of the stages are in plaza de San Antonio; the choir carousels go round the Central Market; the unofficial groups sing mainly in the La Viña neighbourhood, and there are also performances in San Francisco and plaza de la Catedral. The Cabalgata Magna parade runs along the main avenue, and the closing show with the burning of the Bruja Piti has been held at Puerta de Tierra.

The City Council recommends arriving by public transport. On carnival Saturdays city bus lines 1, 3 and 5 run all night and line 7 runs a special late-night service. Intercity buses and trains have special timetables (check the Bahía de Cádiz Transport Consortium and Renfe). Coaches park on the former Navalips site in the Free Zone and on the dock, with shuttle buses to the centre. During the parade the whole main avenue is closed to traffic.

What is most typical of Cádiz are the songs. Each category has its signature piece: the tango for choirs, the pasodoble for comparsas, the cuplé for chirigotas and the parody for quartets. Alongside the official groups are the 'ilegales', chirigotas and quartets of friends who do not enter the competition and sing to small crowds in the streets.

Before the competition, the Pestiñada, Erizada and Ostionada gather thousands of people around food tastings and the first songs of the year. On the street days fancy dress is everywhere, handmade and full of wit, and people eat shrimp fritters, sea urchins, oysters and papas aliñás. Carnival Monday is a local holiday in the city.