Party's over

For the first weekend in a month, I won't hear drums banging outside my window at midnight, or children screaming as a school bus roars by at the same hour.

I take that back. Who knows what I'll hear out my window tonight. But whatever it is, it won't be because of Carnaval.

Carnaval is over.

I know our Portuguese-speaking neighbors to the north get all the Carnaval attention. But Buenos Aires celebrates, too -- and in a really charming, neighborhood-based way that sees a lot of kids participating in something of a last hurrah before classes start up again.

The murgas -- or troupes of performers -- have great names. To name a few: La resaca de Palermo (The Hangover of Palermo), Los mocosos* de Almagro (The Brats of Almagro), Desgastando el asfalto (Wearing Down The Asphalt), Los mamarrachos de Almagro (The Frightful Messes of Almagro).

This photo is better than any I took.

There is a lot of music, marching and dancing. A few blocks are cordoned off in each neighborhood. Some people set up small stands selling silly string or spray foam. Others fire up a barbecue and feed the masses. The party starts at 7pm and officially winds down at 2am.

But now that party is over.

Fortunately, the Tango Festival takes over where Carnaval leaves off.

*Moco is snot, so this works out rather nicely to English's "snot-nosed kid."