by Dot Cannon

The day began with makeup.

At Saturday’s 2015 Long Beach Carnevale, themed “Theater in the Sunshine”, makeup artists were helping to create a Carnevale look before the festivities.

Eleven a.m. was the official start time for the day-long free program, outside Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific.    Things seemed to be getting off to a subdued start, until…

“There!” a woman pointed.

 

The black-velvet costume on this first model of 2015 Carnevale would soon have plenty of company.

And nobody’s creativity was limited.

“I brought three costumes,” said this talented designer, whose cosplay name is HappyPlaceDesignStudio.

He wasn’t kidding, either!

The glittery parrot did give us pause when we first saw it–but it only looks real.  “This is my passion,” HappyPlaceDesignStudio emailed after Carnevale.  “I feel I am growing as an artist, and design more fantastical items every year.”

(Did this man get any sleep in the weeks prior to Long Beach Carnevale?  If you’d like to see more of his work, here’s his website.)

Now, what is Long Beach Carnevale?  If it’s new to you, this is a free special event, based on the Carnival in Venice, which dates back to the eleventh century.  Long Beach Carnevale organizer Joseph Mascheratti first brought the Venetian traditions–not to be confused with Mardi Gras–to Long Beach in 2012.

Spectacle and talent were the cornerstones of Long Beach Carnevale 2015.

The dance performances started with Whittier-based Paso de Oro Dance Company.

According to their website, the Paso de Oro troupe perform Mexican folkloric dances professionally throughout Southern California–at venues including Staples Center.

Their Long Beach audience gave them some well-deserved cheers!

A similar reception greeted ENAF USA, later that afternoon, as they performed the traditional Bolivian “Caporales” folk dance.

“This group, ENAF USA, just started about 2012,” said dance captain Michael Vargas of the Belmont Shore-based troupe.

“This group is beautiful,” he said.  “We have people from Central America, some people even from Peru, and of course, a lot of Bolivians or (people who have Bolivian parents).  It’s such a beautiful thing to express your culture…despite (having) Bolivian blood, I don’t forget that I am American.  I am so honored to be able to blow my whistle (as a dance captain, or guia), because this is the first time I was leading this Bolivian group.”

Michael said he had first learned “Caporales” when he was fourteen.   “At first, it was really hard to get the rhythm down,” he said.  “I practiced for at least one hour or two hours every day back then.”

As the afternoon unfurled like the train on this costume, bands took the stage and shared their music with the crowds.

And the real stars of the day, were these models and Carnevale participants.

Of course, as with most special events, there were some unforeseen changes in schedule.  A flash mob, planned for three o’clock that afternoon, didn’t happen.  “Too hot,” explained Joseph, alluding to the unseasonable upper-eighties temperatures.   (The original Carnavale date had been scheduled for February 28th–but forecasters were so adamant that rain was coming, that the event was postponed by a week.)

But the heat didn’t deter anyone from having fun.

Father and daughter Tiziano and Noemi Cini were on hand to enjoy the festivities–and they hail from Venice, so they know all about Carnevale.  “I think it is maybe better than (Venetian Carnevale),” said Noemi, who has worked as a makeup artist for the Carnevale in Venice.  “The atmosphere is more funny, the people smile all the time.”

When Long Beach Carnevale 2015 wrapped up at 6 pm, Joseph said the event had gone well.    “It was a lot of work, (there were) some problems,” he said, “but a very successful event.”

Those problems, due to the bad-weather postponement, traffic and heat, required a lot of scrambling for him and his crew.  “Basically… the sequence I was planning, on a time schedule, none of that really happened,” he said.  “It was just kind of chaotic, but whenever there was a window, we threw that in there…so there was a flow of things that people got to participate in.”

Well, the “chaotic” part certainly wasn’t evident to Carnevale attendees.  And even as his crew finished breaking down the stage area, Joseph was beginning to plan.

“I might bring…a competition (of sixteen women competing, to be crowned the queen),” he said, “who is embracing Carnevale most, who’s the most beautiful, who’s the most talented.  And then I think I would have two balls, before this.”

We’ll be looking forward to all of the above, for Long Beach Carnevale 2016!