La Vega Carnival

Carnival in La Vega goes back to the early sixteenth century and is the largest in the country, filling the city every Sunday through February and building to the last weekend near independence day. The figure at its centre is the diablo cojuelo, the limping devil, in an elaborate horned mask and a padded suit of mirrors and bells; the masks are made by workshops that compete fiercely and a good one takes months. The devils roam the parade route carrying a vejiga, a dried and inflated animal bladder on a cord, and they strike spectators with it, hard, which is the tradition and is not negotiable. Comparsas, the neighbourhood groups, parade in ranks with their own colours.

What you actually see

• The diablo cojuelo masks - horned, painted and made by competing workshops.
• The comparsas - neighbourhood groups in ranked costume down the route.
• The mask workshops - visible in the city in the weeks beforehand.
• The final Sunday - the biggest day, near the end of February.

When to go

Every Sunday in February, with the last Sunday the largest and most crowded. Arrive early in the afternoon for a place along the route. Hotels in La Vega and Santiago fill for the final weekend, and many visitors base themselves in Santiago and drive over.

Honest expectations

The bladder whipping is real and it stings; wear thick trousers, keep your back covered and understand that being struck is part of taking part. Crowds are dense, pickpocketing happens, and the route is loud and chaotic for hours. It is not a comfortable spectator event and small children have a hard time of it.

Nearby

Santiago is 40 minutes north; Jarabacoa and the mountains are an hour east.