“Carnival has often provided an outlet for popular expressions of discontent with the ruling classes, and was actually banned in Spain during Franco’s Fascist dictatorship, under the pretext that the Carnival practice of disguising one’s identity with masks might provide cover for leftist insurgents to launch surprise guerrilla attacks.”. Though Carnival King has been tamed almost all over Europe, it could come back to life in other continents of the world. A group of activists based in Fremantle (Perth, Australia) propose since 2004 a Carnival festival in the ancient European style: irriverent, nonconformist, countercultural. Meanwhile, in some parts of the old continent, Carnival is taking back its ancient value as an occasion for social protest.
- Carnival king of Europe: research on Carnival and winter fertility rituals in Europe [WEBPAGE]
- PHOTOS of different italian Carnivals, by Angelo Maggio [ALBUM]
- Carnival “Rua” against real estate speculation in Nou Barris (Barcelona) :: Carnaval protests in the neighborhoods of Naples :: Carnival museum in Treviso (Veneto, Italia)
- Against the domestication of the festival: fascination for fire. Monography on the festival of Sant Joan’s Eve in Catalonia at festes.org
- More on Fremantle Carnival: “Unrule rules”, article by Stephen Bennetts in Freo Herald, 2/3/2012 [PDF]
