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Photos from 5th Annual Las Vegas Carnaval International-Mardi Gras

The 5th Annual Las Vegas Carnaval International-Mardi Gras parade was held on May 25, 2013. Our thanks to Mr. Freddy Chavez for providing us with these great photos. 

Mr. Freddy Chavez, President of Residentes Bolivianos de Las Vegas and Las Vegas Carnaval International-Mardi Gras, said, “The Carnaval-Mardi Gras was a wonderful event this year. With each year, more people have become aware of our event, and the numbers clearly show an increase in participants and in public attendance. Because these numbers are virtually double from those of last year, we hope it may continue.”

This year the parade was dedicated to Azul Blue and Milagros Escondidos, two groups dedicated to offering family support for children affected with Autism.  “We want to help them to bring more public awareness and support for these kids,” explained Chavez.

The range of exciting participants include people from New York, Texas, Utah, North Carolina, California, Nevada, Peru, El Salvador,  Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia and others.  Each group brought their magnificent cultural representation through costumes, dance, and music.

The winners of this years’s event were:

Queen of the 2013 Carnaval:

• Miss Guatemala US

Floats:

• 1st Place: Peru
• 2nd Place: Guatemala
• 3rd Place: El Salvador

Dancers:

• 1st Place: Mexico – Fiesta Morelense
• 2nd Place: Mexico – Comparza Morelense
• 3rd Place: USA – Hi Steppers

Because Bolivia is the host of Carnaval-Mardi Gras, Bolivia does not compete with other cultures, but there is one trophy awarded for Floats, and one for Dancers:

Float:

• 1st Place: Agrupacion Folklorica Bolivia

Dancers:

• 1st Place: Caporales San Simon University

Las Vegas Carnaval International – Mardi Gras was started in 2007 by Mr. Freddy Chavez, President of Residentes Bolivianos de Las Vegas and Las Vegas Carnaval International-Mardi Gras.

Chavez’ vision was to develop the annual event from a small fledgling celebration, welcoming more countries to participate each year.

“We see this opportunity to embrace the multicultural diversity of America and show the world the brightest and most beautiful from each culture,” said Chavez. “It is also our dream to see this Carnaval-Mardi Gras become one of the best ten Carnaval-Mardi Gras’ in the world and we hope it will become a large annual celebration in Las Vegas.”

For more information, visit: http://www.lvcarnavalinternational.com/