Santo Domingo.– The province of Puerto Plata will be the protagonist of the 2026 National Carnival Parade, which will be held on March 15th and will be dedicated to highlighting the historical and cultural richness of this demarcation, especially through the taimáscaro, an emblematic figure of the Puerto Plata carnival.
The dedication seeks to highlight a tradition that, although rooted in the colonial origins of the Dominican carnival, consolidated its contemporary identity in Puerto Plata from 1991, when a group of young people designed the concept of the taimáscaro to differentiate the local proposal from other carnival squares such as La Vega and Santiago de los Caballeros. Since then, this character became the central symbol of the carnival of the so-called Bride of the Atlantic.
The name taimáscaro comes from the combination of “tai”, referring to the Taíno people, and “máscaro”, alluding to the masked devils of Spanish tradition. Its aesthetic conception reflects the fusion of the three Dominican cultural roots: the Taíno, present in the name and decorative elements; the Spanish, visible in the design of the mask and the costume; and the African, linked to music and dance.
One of the distinctive features of this character is its maritime symbolism. Unlike other carnivals that incorporate bells, the taimáscaro uses marine snails integrated into the costume, whose sound evokes the coastal identity of Puerto Plata. The traditional outfit is composed of five pieces: pants, shirt, cape, bib and sash, in addition to the mask that completes the ensemble.
Next to the taimáscaro, the Puerto Plata carnival also integrates traditional characters present in other celebrations of the country, such as the robalagallina, the Africans or tiznaos and representations of Indians, whose main activities take place on the city’s malecón.
Parade Participants
During the official announcement of the event, it was reported that the photographer Mariano Hernández was designated as the king of the carnival, while the renowned communicator Zoila Luna will hold the title of queen.
Also, the carnival enthusiast and artisan Juan Francisco Vásquez Acosta, known as Juampa, will be the honored figure of this edition. Born in Cotuí in 1961, he has accumulated more than five decades of experience in the Dominican carnival, participating in local, regional, and national parades with creations that have been recognized on multiple occasions.
Juampa received the Felipe Abreu National Carnival Award in 2011 and was chosen as the king of the National Carnival Parade in 2018. He is also the co-author of the book “The art in the head: face and identity”.
National and International Participation
The organizers project the participation of some 170 comparsas and about 9,000 members, including dancers, musicians, artists, and artisans, in a production conceived as a great showcase of Dominican popular culture.
This year’s edition will also feature international delegations, including the Carnival of Blacks and Whites, declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, and the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro, responsible for organizing the parade of samba schools of the special group in the Sambadrome of Rio de Janeiro.
Representatives from the Ponce Beach Carnival and the National Federation of Masqueraders and Fancy Dress will also participate, a delegation that will be headed by her majesty Nana Ama Amissah III, from the Kingdom of Mankessim in the Republic of Ghana.
The organization emphasized that the objective of the parade is to bring together in one space the carnival expressions of all the provinces of the country, preserve the authenticity of traditional troupes and characters, strengthen the creative industry linked to the elaboration of masks, costumes and music, and expand the international projection of Dominican culture during
2026.
