Montevideo's Museo Del Carnaval

I do not know what sort of creature this is supposed to be.  Nor do I want to.

I lived 52 years on this planet never once having set foot in a Mardi Gras museum.  Now, twice in the last six months, I have.

Back in May, I had a chance to visit Mardi Gras World in New Orleans.  It was spectacular.  It was huge, featuring tons of floats, costumes, films.  It was part museum and part factory tour, as you could see the construction already happening for Mardi Gras 2014.  Now, six months later, I had the opportunity to visit the Museo del Carnaval in Montevideo.

Entre, por favor

Like Mardi Gras World in New Orleans, this museum is dedicated to that festive, hedonistic holiday we celebrate right before the start of the Lenten season of self-denial.  And like Mardi Gras World, the Museo del Carnaval is located portside, along the water in the harbor side of town.

I've exhausted the list of similarities.  I guess the key difference is that Carnaval is celebrated in Montevideo, while in New Orleans (and in Rio and Salvador in Brasil), Mardi Gras/Carnival is an all-comsuming 365-days year way-of-life.

The collection is a work in progress, as it is tiny for its warehourse-sized space.  Admission is quite inexpensive, so it was fun to walk around and snap some pictures of the collection.  Take a look-see: