<![CDATA[ “É o teatro a céu aberto”: António Variações é o tema do Carnaval de Estarreja ]]>

“Estarreja Carnival is open-air theatre.” This is guaranteed by Nuno Teixeira, from the Trepa samba school, who is also the carnival designer - the person who devises the theme for Carnival, which this year is dedicated to António Variações.

In Estarreja, the big parades take place on March 2nd and 4th, at the Antuã Municipal Park, the Carnival Site. “Entire families work for this. They say Carnival lasts for three days, but this is a year-round effort. It is the biggest event for the people of Estarreja and is attended by all age groups and social classes”, says Pedro Silva, president of the Carnival Association.

In total, there are 17 floats in the parade and 1,300 participants. The kings are António Ferreira and Carla Rodrigues, local carnival enthusiasts. “This is a cultural event. It gets the whole community moving,” says the cultural councilor of Estarreja, Isabel Pinto.

Another community that is also moving, further down in geographical terms, is Elvas, which this year has a night parade as its big novelty.

“This parade will take place on Monday, the only day when nothing happens,” explains the mayor, Rondão Almeida. The parade will end in Praça da República, with a big carnival dance. Elvas will bring around three thousand participants to the streets. The carnival-goers from Badajoz will join in on Saturday’s parade, and those from Olivença on Sunday. The kings are Miguel Rondão and Sónia Santos.