Spring festivals underway around the world

With spring rapidly approaching, the festival season has arrived in countries around the world. Among the seasonal celebrations are the street festival in Cuba, sausage festival in Yugoslavia, Madrid festival in Spain and the Madrina festival in Italy.

The start of Rio Carnival:

The Rio Carnival began on Feb. 23 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The king of the festival and two festival princesses rang in the four-day carnival.

Madrid festival now underway:

On Feb. 24, women in cow costumes drew attention from spectators in the streets of Madrid, which is in the process of getting over a ``mad cow disease`` scare. Festival organizers hope to take people`s minds off the ongoing beef crisis in parts of Europe.

Yugoslavia fest a celebration of sausages:

On Feb. 24, a cook from a small town in the northern part of Yugoslavia produced a 1,017-meter-long sausage and displayed it for festival attendees.

Cigar festival is all about smoke:

Cigar festival organizers in Havana, Cuba invited people from around the world to sample the island nation`s new brand of cigars.