8 Facts You Didn't Know About Latin American Carnival

Seventeen thousand porta-potties aren’t enough to absorb the 2 million partiers in Rio’s carnival. The city has established a “pee-patrol” to crack down on public urination.

February is the hottest month of the year in Brazil. Performers decked in elaborate costumes struggle to stay hydrated in 43 C weather.

Carnival has always been about flipping social order. In Rio, it’s the city's poorest that shine the brightest. The majority of the cities 200 samba schools’ members are from lower-income slums.

The Carnaval de Oruro in Bolivia features dragon masks inspired by chinese tea containers that were imported in colonial times.

Peru’s Carnivals feature constraint water-balloon battles. In historical times, revelers threw eggs.

In Spain, carnival participants stage a mock coup, in which faux revolutionaries fight with flour, eggs, and fire extinguishers.

This year’s most mocked political figures in Brazilian carnival included President Dilma Rousseff and the Graca Foster, the former CEO of the state oil company, Petrobras.

Mazatlan’s carnival features a mock “naval combat” in which fireworks are shot from opposing sides of the seaside town.