Carnaval Dominicano
The most vibrant, historic, and important cultural festival in the Dominican Republic — and Cabarete's beach is one of the best places to experience it.
500 years of history, one month of celebration
Carnaval Dominicano isn't just a party — it's a month-long cultural event that runs every Sunday throughout February and spills into early March. The timing isn't accidental: Dominican Independence Day falls on February 27th, right in the middle of it, turning the whole month into one extended national celebration. The grand finale is the National Carnival Parade along the Malecón in Santo Domingo.
The festival's roots trace back to the 1500s when Spanish colonizers brought over the tradition of dressing as Moors and Christians. Over centuries, African and indigenous Taíno influences wove in, creating characters unique to each Dominican town. The star of the show is El Diablo Cojuelo — the Limping Devil — in terrifying handcrafted papier-mâché masks with huge teeth and horns, colourful satin suits covered in bells and mirrors. In Puerto Plata specifically, the local version is called the Taimáscaro, honouring the indigenous Taíno gods of the region.
The characters carry a vejiga — a hardened animal bladder on a rope — and playfully strike onlookers as they pass. In Dominican folklore this wasn't just a prank: the rhythmic whipping was believed to spiritually cleanse the crowd, chasing away evil spirits and bad luck. Today entire families and neighbourhoods form comparsas (troupes) and march together, preserving centuries of heritage in the most joyful way imaginable.
Photos taken on Cabarete beach during Carnaval — original photography by Costa Norte DR.
