La Ceiba Carnaval

La Ceiba Carnaval 2006;
photos: El Jefe

The annual La Ceiba Carnaval is coming up soon. Officially it kicks off on Saturday, May 12 and continues to May 26. Saturday, May 26 is really the big day. That's when the parade occurs and there is lots of partying on the streets at night.

I tried to do some research so I could give you accurate information but I found surprisingly little information on the internet, at least in English. I was hard pressed to find any sites that devoted more than one or two sentences to the carnaval.


Here are some excerpts. Click the links if you would like to read more.


From laceiba.com:

La Ceiba is known throughout Central America for "Feria Isidra", which takes place at the end of May. It culminates with a big carnival called "Gran Carnaval de la Amistad", when first avenue turns into a huge dance, with local musical bands and colorful floats. The remainder of the year, the party environment continues in the "Zona Viva" (Lively Zone) - an area known for its clubs and bars frequented by natives and foreigners alike. There is a saying in Honduras, which many Ceibenos have taken to heart. It goes: In Tegucigalpa, they think; In San Pedro, they work; and In La Ceiba, they party!

From Sidewalk Mystic::

Expect to be bombarded by a uniquely Latin American party experience. Amidst the loudly chattering, pulsing people, you will find whole animals being cooked in the streets, strange forms of gambling, and your typical useless fair trinkets. For your typical traveler, people watching can be an adventure in itself. You will see all kinds here, from scantily clad women to the older generation wearing traditional clothing. You may have trouble maneuvering through the city as the street vendors’ assortment of t-shirts, shoes, cheeses, toys, toiletries, and many other knick knacks overflow from the sidewalks into the streets. It is quite a site … like nothing you would ever see in North America.

From Honduras This Week Online (2004 Carnaval):

As is the norm on this third weekend of May, thousands of visitors from Honduras, Central America and further afield, descended on the beach town reputed to be the party capital of Honduras.

Then there is the official site (Note: link removed as the site no longer exists-2013) which you might expect would give a schedule of events and tell you everything you need to know about the carnaval, right?

Wrong! This is Honduras! Almost every link is a 404, except for those which "are being updated at this precise moment." It will probably be finished somewhere around May 25th. Oh, and it is only available in Spanish.

Not all is lost, though. I picked up these great videos from the site. Watch them both, I think you'll like them and get a flavor for the parade and the typical punta dance that is popular here. There is one more video on the official website, but these two are the best, in my opinion.

Mi Novia en Carnaval Douglas Guardado & Gold Star Band Fiesta en Carnaval Aurelio Martínez, La Vieja Escuela, Yankee Col.

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See the 2013 carnival update here.