The children’s carnivals reveal the differences in atmosphere and social life which exist between the neighbour towns Vilanova and Sitges.If you, as a visitor, want your children to be a part of the carnival next year, the Saturday program in Vilanova is my best recommendation. There are no carnival groups in the children’s parades here, they are open for anyone who wants to join. The only hurdle is the language. For children it usually is not a problem that everything is in Catalan – many of them speak this language at school – but foreign born parents can, admittedly, feel a bit excluded.
Sitges, on the other hand, is like a window to the outside world. Not that my small boys understood much, but while we watched the children parade on Tuesday afternoon, it was easy for me to give examples of what Swedes usually think of when hearing the word carnival. Language wise it is easy to connect, there are a lot of expat children who take part in the parade. However, no matter how nice fancy dresses your children wear, they can not really participate. This is a well rehearsed show – there are several groups of young girls who dance proper samba.Funnily enough, there do not seem to be any parents who take their boys to dancing school, although this town is known for its open-minded atmosphere. Or, maybe, that is the reason why.
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