The Carnival, unique to this state, is a last hurrah of jollity when locals and tourists alike celebrate with gusto, eating, drinking and dancing.
The event has a strong Latin flavour with the Red and Black dance at the Clube Nacional as the grand finale. A legacy of the Portuguese, the pagan delights have melded into a local variant. Farces and floats, games and contests, bands and balls make one live life to the fullest for these three days.
Rural Goa comes alive with a similar celebration of its own, called ‘Intruz’. Troupes of musicians singing folk songs visit villages, spreading the carnival spirit.
