Thanks Helene, Ron and Bart.
@Bart: those procession "floats" take countless man hours to build. They already start some 9-10 months in advance with design and construction. They are built by clubs of people who spend their every free moment in the workshop trying to get it finished just in time (all voluntary work). The floats are huge and they have all sorts of moving parts. They are built around a theme each although this is not the same as the yearly changing motto of the carnival. The motto is announced on the 11th of November and 2-3 months is too short for the clubs to build a float in time according to the motto. Most of them choose themes relating to the local affairs and politics and many locally famous people are turned into caricatures/statues in those floats. They provide much more information to the locals compared to the outsiders who just admire the craftsmanship. The have categories according to sizes and winners are chosen in each category after the procession. I have many more pictures of various floats, let me see if can post some more tomorrow.
