The Carnival of the Animals and xylophone. From the beginning, Saint-Saëns regarded the work as a piece of fun. On 9 February 1886 he wrote to his publishers Durand in Paris that he was composing a work for the coming Shrove Tuesday, and confessing that he knew he should be working on his Third Symphony, but that this work was "such fun" (). He had apparently intended to write the work for his students at the École Niedermeyer, but it was first performed at a private concert given by the cellist Charles Lebouc on Shrove Tuesday, 9 March 1886. A second (private) performance was given
Barranquilla's Carnival Gran Parada) on Sunday and Monday is marked by an Orchestra Festival with Caribbean and Latin bands. Tuesday signals the end of the carnival, announced by the burial of Joselito Carnaval, who is mourned by everyone. The Barranquilla Carnival has been claimed to be the second largest carnival in the world, surpassed only by Rio de Janeiro. Barranquilla's Carnival slogan is: Those who live it are those who enjoy it (Quien lo vive, es quien lo goza). Very little is known about exactly how and why this carnival began. There are many theories; the most popular belief is that the