Above: a carnival float in Gonaïves, Haiti (Photo: MC Haiti)

This is the third consecutive year that Haiti’s carnival is being held outside of the capital, Port-au-Prince, part of a wider campaign by Haiti President Michel Martelly to push “decentralization” in the country.

Above: preparation for Carnival in Gonaives

In 2012, Haiti held its national carnival in Les Cayes, while last year’s carnival was held in the city of Cap-Haitien on the country’s northern coast.

Gonaïves is known as Haiti’s “city of independence,” as the place where Jean-Jacques Dessalines first declared the country’s independence from France.

The carnival lasts from Sunday through Tuesday in the city of around 300,000 people.

In a statement, Martelly said he hoped the carnival was an “opportunity for Haiti to sell a better image of itself and attract tourists.”