The Carnaval de Ponce (English: Ponce Carnival), officially Carnaval Ponceño, is an annual celebration of the Carnival holiday held in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The celebration lasts one week, and like most observations of the holiday ends on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras Day, the day before Ash Wednesday). Thus, like the Carnival holiday in general, it is usually held in February and or March. It dates back to 1858.Ponce Carnival Goes International In its 150th Anniversary Edition. Let's Go To Ponce. Ponce Carnival. Retrieved 12 April 2010. Some authorities, such as the Smithsonian Institution, believe the Ponce Carnaval can be traced to as far back as 250 years ago.A Puerto Rican Carnival: How to Dress for the Ponce Carnival; Introduction: What is a Carnival? The Smithsonian Institution. 1993 and 2002. Accessed 1 February 2019. The Carnaval coincides with the Mardi Gras of New Orleans, the Carnival of Venice, and Rio de Janeiro's Carnival and hundreds of other places that observe this holiday around the world. The estimated attendance is 100,000.Attendance Retrieved April 12, 2010. Scenes of the 2011 Carnaval Ponceño were featured in the Travel Channel on 7 August 2011. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
History
There are no documents stating the official origin of the Carnaval, but there are documents mentioning the celebration as early as 1858.Activan plan de seguridad para Carnaval. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2018.Activan plan de seguridad para Carnaval. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.Carnaval, Carnval, Llego el Carnaval! El Señorial. Ponce Municipal Government. "Anuario: Carnaval Ponceño 2013." February–March 2013. Page 18. Retrieved 30 September 2013. The Carnaval de Ponce thus began in 1858 and was started as a mask dance by a Spaniard by the name of José de la Guardia.Tradiciones de la Perla del Sur: Fiestas del Carnaval de Ponce. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Retrieved 7 July 2012.Mantienen viva la tradición carnavalesca. Reinaldo Millán La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 6 February 2013. Year 31. Issue 1523. Page 24. Retrieved 6 February 2013. The masquerade dance continued as a tradition through the years, but it was not until the 1950s that the municipal government added the parade to the Carnaval.Tradiciones de la Perla del Sur: Fiestas del Carnaval de Ponce. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Retrieved 7 July 2012. In the early 1960s, the Carnaval began to integrate floats that represented civic and cultural institutions, public and private residential communities, schools, colleges and universities, banking, industry and commerce.Carmelo Rosario Natal. Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002. Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 91. The Office of Cultural Development of the Municipality of Ponce explains that “it is believed that the influence of the Nice Carnival extended to Barcelona and that immigrants from Barcelona brought it to Ponce. With the passing of time Poceans have added their own touches with Afro-Antillean music that fills the celebrations with percussion, rhythm and happiness."Celebran 160 años del carnaval en Ponce: Pese a los azotes y las vicisitudes por culpa del huracán María, los ponceños festejarán en grande. Josefina Barceló Jiménez. El Nuevo Dia. Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. 4 February 2018. Accessed 15 February 2018.
In June 1995, Carnaval de Ponce was taken to New York City where, during the Puerto Rican Day Parade, over 200 entertainers, folk artists and musicians from Ponce, in addition to the Banda Municipal de Ponce and the Carnival's Queen and Child Queen, marched down New York's Fifth Avenue as part of that City's Puerto Rican Day Celebration. During the week leading to the Parade, folk artists from the Carnaval de Ponce, toured the City teaching children to make the traditional Ponce carnival's masks.Antonio R. Gomez and Margarita Diaz. Unmasking the Ponce Carnival. Daily News. New York, New York. Puerto Rican Day parade Special. 8 June 1995. In 2012, a local news weekly called Carnaval de Ponce "Puerto Rico's National Carnival".Activan plan de seguridad para Carnaval. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
Costumes and masks
One of the traditions of the Carnaval is the appearance of the "vejigantes", which is a colorful costume traditionally representing the devil or evil. Vejigantes carry blown cow bladders with which they make sounds and hit carnival attendees throughout the processions.
The traditional vejigante masks of the Ponce carnival are made of paper mache and are characterized by the presence of multiple horns. The mask was developed by Ponce artisans in the early part of the 20th century. They are made from newsprint paper mixed with homemade glue and paint. Sophisticated Ponce carnival masks are sought after by mask collectors and masks from Ponce have become a symbol of Puerto Rico at large.Antonio R. Gomez and Margarita Diaz. Unmasking the Ponce Carnival. Daily News. New York, New York. Puerto Rican Day Parade Special Supplement. 8 June 1995.
The Carnaval ends with the Burial of the Sardine, at which point everyone sings a song in Spanish that translates into:The Smithsonian Institution. A Puerto Rican Carnival: How to Dress for the Ponce Carnival. Retrieved April 12, 2010. The burial of the Sardine event started in 1967.Carmelo Rosario Natal. Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002. Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 91. (The Ball Dance was also started in 1967.The burial of the Sardine event started in 1967.Carmelo Rosario Natal. Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002. Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 91.
The Carnival is dead now They are burying him; Throw just a little dirt in So he can rise again.
Economics The municipal government invests close to $100,000 in the Carnival and the event infuses some $500,000 into the city's economy.Cierra La Sonora el Carnaval Ponceño . La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 6 February 2013. Year 31. Issue 1523. Page 28. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
List of events The Carnaval starts on the Wednesday before Ash Wednesday, and the events are as follows.Carnival Program Retrieved April 12, 2010.Travel Ponce Retrieved April 12, 2010.
Wednesday: Vejigantes Party Thursday: King Momo Entrance Parade Friday: Crowning of the Child Queen Saturday: Crowning of the Carnival Adult Queen Sunday: Main Parade Monday: Carnival's Ball Dance Tuesday: Burial of the Sardine
Carnaval queens and child queens
In 1959, the Carnaval introduced the crowning of a Carnaval queen. This was followed, in 1973, with the crowning of a Carnaval child queen. The following are the Carnaval queens and child queens.Unless otherwise indicated, this information is taken from Carnaval Ponceños 2012: Dedicado a los "Ponceños y Ponceñistas destacados en los Medios de Comunicación". Page 34. Municipio Autónomo de Ponce. Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural. February 2012.
Carnaval Queens + Queens of the CarnivalYearQueen NameCarnaval Ponceño 2012: Dedicado a 'Los Ponceños y Ponceñistas destacados en los Medios de Comunicacion' (Municipio Autonomo de Ponce, 2012; CEE-SA-12-3910), page <no page number; not numbered>.1959 Leida Luz Llorens1960 Leida Luz Llorens 1961 Leida Luz Llorens1962 Esther Noriega1963 Edna Ivette Grau 1964 Edna Ivette Grau 1965 Ivonne Maria Santiago 1966 Carmencita Lespier 1967 Milagros Agostini1968 Carmen Milagros Rivera1969 Mildred Goyco1970 Mayra Irizarry1971 Cinthia Boscio1972 Gisela Irizarry1973 Maria de los Angeles Colon1974 Lourdes Maria Rovira1975 Alma Minerva Ortiz1976 Lourdes Falcon 1977 Marlene Delgado Brey1978 Lourdes Milagros Buzo1979 Johanna Bonaparte Duran1980 Mariposa Zayas Burgos1981 Elizabeth Morales1982 Sonja Johanna Maiz Iñesta1983 Angeles I. Nieves1984 Rayna Judith Rivera Fernandez1985 Patricia Rovira Vechini1986 Natalia Rodriguez Deynes1987 Sonia Farinacci Morales1988 Awilda Lopez Cepero1989 Geraldina Ann Vidal Cavas1990 Brenda I. Rivera1991 Elsie M. Velez Miranda1992 Elaina Rodriguez Spenser1993 Virmarie Figueroa Rodriguez1994 Maria de los Angeles Buzo1995 Raqueline Martinez Uriarte1996 Leslie Bermejo Velazquez1997 Eugenik Gonzalez de Leon1998 Yara M. Velazquez Rivera1999 Miheydic Rodriguez Georgi2000 Ludmila del Carmen Pagan Ocasio2001 Luzmarie Borrero Rodriguez2002 Karen Marie Molina2003 Robelyn Caraballo Ramirez2004 Miraida Rodriguez Muniz2005 Anabeliz Alindato Figueroa2006 Pamela Sierra Rivera2007 Vilmarie Reyes Flores2008 Christal J. Ponce Roman2009 Alisheanne Santiago Coll2010 Xiomara Ramirez Rodriguez2011 Solymar Feliciano Montero2012 Christal Nicole Gonzalez Rivera2013 Stephanie Echevarría LlanesCierra La Sonora el Carnaval Ponceño . La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 6 February 2013. Year 31. Issue 1523. Page 28. Retrieved 7 February 2013.2014 Glorymar Batista RiveraTodo listo para la celebración del Carnaval Ponceño 2014. RadioIsla. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.Listo Ponce para los 156 años de su carnaval. Darisabel Texidor Guadalupe. Primera Hora. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.2015 Keishla N. Rodriguez de JesusCarnaval de Ponce, 2019. (carnaval brochure - "Edicion 161 del Carnaval Ponceño.") Municipio de Ponce. Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural. Ponce, Puerto Rico. "Reinas del Carnaval Ponceño." p. 14.2016 Keishla Marie Correa DidesCarnaval de Ponce, 2019. (carnaval brochure - "Edicion 161 del Carnaval Ponceño.") Municipio de Ponce. Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural. Ponce, Puerto Rico. "Reinas del Carnaval Ponceño." p. 14.2017 Maytes L. Rivera VargasEste viernes inicia la edición 159 del Carnaval Ponceño. WIPR TV. San Juan, PuertO Rico. 22 February 2017. Accessed 15 February 2018.2018 Maytes L. Rivera VargasCelebran 160 años del carnaval en Ponce: Pese a los azotes y las vicisitudes por culpa del huracán María, los ponceños festejarán en grande. Josefina Barceló Jiménez. El Nuevo Dia. Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. 4 February 2018. Accessed 15 February 2018.2019 Adlin Camille Mendez VargasCarnaval de Ponce, 2019. (carnaval brochure - "Edición 161 del Carnaval Ponceño.") Municipio de Ponce. Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural. Ponce, Puerto Rico. "S. M. Adlin Camille Mendez Vargas." p. 16.2020 Kayra Figueroa de JesúsIsla Caribe. Facebook page dated 19 February 2020. Accessed 28 January 2024.2021 Kayra Figueroa de JesusA punto la histórica versión rodante del Carnaval Ponceño: El gran cierre del evento tendrá lugar en La Playa de Ponce, donde se realizarán las clásicas letanías, el Entierro de la Sardina, la Quema de Júa y la develación del Rey Momo. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Periodico La Perla del Sur. (Printed version: Year 38. Issue 1941. 10 to 16 February 2021. p. 12.) Accessed 10 February 2021.2022 Julianna Elis Guilbe SerranoCarnaval de Ponce regresa a los barrios. Esnoticiapr.com Ponce, Puerto Rico: Periódico Es Noticia. 25 February to 10 March 2022. Year 6. Issue 164. Accessed 25 February 2022. p.14.2023 Caridad M. Muñiz SepulvedaCarnaval Ponceño 2025: Edición 167 del Carnaval Ponceño, 27 Febrero a 4 Marzo : Con sus mascaras y colores los vejigantes invaden las redes. Municipio de Ponce. Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural. Ponce, Puerto Rico. p. 30. Febrero 2025.2024 Gamalish Joan Ruiz Narvaez.Carnaval Ponceño 2025: Edición 167 del Carnaval Ponceño, 27 Febrero a 4 Marzo : Con sus mascaras y colores los vejigantes invaden las redes. Municipio de Ponce. Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural. Ponce, Puerto Rico. p. 30. Febrero 2025.
Carnaval Child queens