As recurring events celebrated each year before the Lenten season, Carnivals in Puerto Rico offer colorful and effervescent spectacles that bring communities together to celebrate their shared Hispanic and Afro-Puerto Rican ancestry and culture. Celebrations typically involve parades/processions, music performances, and masked characters, such as vejigante (devil trickster), Loca (crazy woman), and Viejo (old man). This lesson explores the music, dance, and theatrical aspects of Puerto Rico’s Carnival and contextualizes these fiestas into the broader Carnival tradition of the Caribbean and Latin America. Students will experience musical styles associated with Carnival celebrations throughout the region and will synthesize their learning through creative activities, such as making vejigante masks and/or composing music “in the style of” plena and/or calypso.

Lesson Paths & Learning Objectives

1. Carnival in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Beyond

   • Describe the history, influences, and purposes of Carnival in Latin America and the Caribbean.
   • Identify some common elements and rituals of Carnival celebrations around the world.
   • Identify and describe some local traditions and music genres in Latin America and the Caribbean that are associated with Carnival.
   • 30+ minutes

2. Celebrating Carnival in Puerto Rico

   • Describe the Carnival “scene” in Puerto Rico.
   • Explain the role of the vejigante in the Puerto Rico Carnival tradition.
   • Identify and describe the musical genres commonly associated with Carnival in Puerto Rico.
   • Create art that is inspired by Puerto Rican Carnival.
   • 30+ minutes

3. Calypso: Connecting Communities

   • Explain how calypso music connects communities in the Caribbean region.
   • Identify the important musical features of calypso music.
   • Perform a rhythmic and harmonic groove inspired by calypso music.
   • Within specific guidelines, write your own calypso.
   • 30+ minutes