Corrientes Carnival shines in Canada

To the rhythm of the traditional parades of the Corrientes Carnival, Belen Fernandez-Coutinho and Dario Harper marched yesterday in Toronto, Canada, at the opening of the Latin American Heritage Festival.

This is the third year that the international event has been held, but it is the first time that delegations from different countries have walked through downtown Toronto to end with the “Autumn Festival” at Dundas Square where there were music performances, courtyard tastings and various attractions.

A Latin procession down Yonge Street, Toronto’s main street, was attended by representatives from most of the nations who had settled in Canada. The Argentine delegation included the current kings of the national capital of Carnival, Pelin and Dario.

“This invitation greatly honors us because it means a great opportunity to introduce our culture at an event of an international character,” the Queen and the King said at the time they were summoned to bring a part of Corrientes’ culture to the northern country.

“We are so grateful that we were able to get to Canada and bring a sample of the carnival that sets us apart from the Corrientes,” Belen told Toronto’s “La Voz de la Comunidad” radio program.

“For us, it is a great honor to be here. We have been preparing for this show for a long time. Being the kings of the carnival means that we work all year round to promote our festival, which is the most important festival in the country,” said Dario. Harper added to Chha 1610 AM: “We accompany all bands and bands, and those who participate in neighborhood carnivals that attract a lot of people and are very popular.”

The Kings also commented on the previous works performed on each edition of the Carnival, explaining that “we have a craft party that is unique in the world, for the luxury of costumes and for a show of comparsa that we haven’t seen on another side.”

In those shows “we have 500 people go through a stage to make musical scenes related to the themes chosen by the comparsas”.

Belen explained that Argentina has different carnivals, named among other provinces such as Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Jujuy, La Rioja and Buenos Aires. “Today it is our turn to represent Argentina and we are proud of that with our Corrientes Carnival.”

They also highlighted that the shamma is the music of the Sahel and that it was recently declared a cultural heritage of mankind. “Our carnival mixed a lot with the rhythm of chamomile and other rhythms. Many traditional parades were given by Osvaldo Sosa Cordero, the great composer from Corrientes.”