Now that Carnival has drawn to a close, here's a selection of top images taken at this year's pre-Lenten parties across Latin America and the Caribbean.

At the iconic Sambadrome parade in Rio de Janeiro, some performers literally became shower heads, spraying water up into the air from their hats as they sang and danced. A performer who uses a wheelchair dazzled the crowd with a seemingly impossible feat: a handstand while holding the chair up in the air.

Animals got into the action during a pet parade along Rio's Copacabana Beach, with some dogs in baby strollers and all of them in costume.

Other cities around the hemisphere celebrated in their own unique ways.

Revelers in Triunfo, Brazil, strolled the streets in sad-faced masks, while partygoers in Montevideo, Uruguay, banged on Candombe drums, a tradition dating from the colonial era when African slaves were brought to South America. In Oruro, Bolivia, dancers performed their pagan-Catholic blend of Carnival, an event considered one of UNESCO's Masterpieces of Humanity's Oral and Intangible Heritage.

Political tensions in Haiti caused some events to be cancelled and dampened participation, but people still took to the streets to celebrate, including roller-skaters in elaborate costumes.

The Zika outbreak in the Americas was on a lot of people's minds, but it didn't dent Carnival celebrations. At one street party, Brazilians symbolically buried the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits the virus, insisting the show go on as always.

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This gallery was curated by AP Regional Photo Editor Enric Marti in Mexico City.