Carnival 2012: Latin America Bids 'Farewell to the Flesh' [SLIDESHOW]

Carnival is a festive event held before the Christian observance of Lent, a forty-day period of prayer and fasting before the celebration of Easter. It is commonly held in countries with sizable Catholic populations, and is celebrated with costumes, parades and feasts. The word "Carnival," roughly translated from Latin, means "farewell to meat" or "farewell to flesh." It is a term that connotes both the coming period of solemnity and restraint as well as a sort of celebratory liberation from the body and everyday life.

Members of a comparsa, an Uruguayan carnival band, perform during the second night of the Llamadas parade in Montevideo February 10, 2012. The Llamadas, which is Spanish for "Call", originated during the colonial times when slaves played drums to keep in touch with relatives and friends.

Dancers from Diablada Urus perform during the Carnival parade in Oruro, some 200 km (124 miles) south of La Paz, February 18, 2012. Partying and religion mingled in Bolivia's Carnival celebration in Oruro, a mining and commercial city of more than 200,000 people.

Revellers dressed as "Garabatos" perform during a carnival parade in Barranquilla February 19, 2012.

Revellers participate in a masked ball during celebrations for the "Carnival of All Colors" in Maragojipe city, northeastern Brazil February 20, 2012.

The Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro is the most famous and spectacular celebration in Latin America, and arguably the world. Check out more pictures of the event here:

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/301435/20120220/rio-carnival-2012-parade-de-janeiro-pictures.htm

People take part in celebrations at Mazatlan's International Carnival 2012 named "The Fair of Empires" in the Mexican resort of Mazatlan February 18, 2012.

A cello pan player with the Katzenjammers steel orchestra plays with the band during the National Panorama finals held at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain February 18, 2012. Painted faces and colorful costumes are common in the steelband competition, one of the main shows held during the annual Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago.

Although Trinidad and Tobago is an English-speaking country, many of its cultural traditions are influenced by the Caribbean island nation's proximity and historical connection with Latin America.