11030129. Puebla, Puebla.- En conmemoración del Día de muertos, se colocó una ofrenda monumental con calaveras de papel mache realizadas por artesanos locales, hoy en el patio del Palacio Municipal de Puebla. NOTIMEX/FOTO/CARLOS PACHECO/CPP/HUM/
When you visit a festival, you tend to get a closer look at the culture from where it originates. Even if it is a public spectacle, there are certain moments that can be extremely intimate.
Some of them honor tradition while others have a distinct purpose behind all the festivities too. So, here are 3 of the world’s best festivals to participate in:
1: Il Palio, Italy
This event is literally a bone-crunching, bareback horse race that lasts for 90 seconds. Held at the Piazza del Campo, this race features jockeys from Siena’s 17 neighborhoods and involves riders crashing to the ground at regular intervals. Of course, once the race is over, you can expect a baby bottle of wine too.
2: Kanamara Matsuri, Japan
Japanese culture clearly contradicts itself since it bans the display of even pubic hair in films. Yet this festival that features transvestites seems to go against it all as people during this festival carry a big pink penis around town. Known as the ‘Festival of the Steel Phallus’, it was held in order to make people aware of a surge in syphilis in the 17th century. Best part: spectators such on phallus-shaped lollipops, kids play on penile swings while adults manage to carve radishes into penises too.
3: Dia de Muertos, Mexico
Celebrated in Mexico, this two-day festival celebrates the reunion of relatives with their loved ones who have passed on. Skeletons on stilts, colorful costumes, lots of food and drink, mariachi bands and even parties in cemeteries are a part of the celebrations. Unlike Halloween, this festival will actually eliminate that fear of dying completely.
