))
![Festa das Latas [Can Festival]:](https://www.cm-coimbra.pt/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/latada_1276x616_acf_cropped.jpg)
The highlight of the festival is the parade through the city streets. In this parade, all University students participate, wearing their academic attire. Freshmen, subject to the Praxe [Pledging], parade in costumes designed by senior students and godparents (students who have been part of the academy longer and who not only help freshmen in their integration within the academic community, but also act in a friendship commitment to their godchildren, helping them in all that is necessary throughout their university course) with the colours of the faculty to which they belong and dragging cans tied to their ankles, which gives rise to a rather noisy parade. It is usual to display messages of criticism and social satire.
The end of the parade takes place along the river banks, where the course godfathers baptize their godchildren with water from the Mondego River, in a sort of ritual of acceptance and belonging to the academy. It is a singular event that brings a festive atmosphere to the city, joined by the community that participates in the revelry, enthusiasm and even some of the excesses that are common among the youth.