Colombia’s The Barranquilla’s Carnival (Spanish: Carnaval de Barranquilla)

Barranquilla’s world famous carnival is a joyous celebration of everything it means to be Colombian, with dancing, music and parades that turn its streets into a rainbow. Here is everything you need to know to be part of this essential Colombian experience.

The streets of parties masked parades and celebrations of traditional music. Colombian rhythms such as cumbia, porro, gaita and puya and dances including the Spanish paloteo, African congo and the indigenous mico y micas are heart and soul of the party, along with vigorous drumming and wind instrument performances and, of course, the good citizens of Barranquilla can’t resist dousing one another with flour and foam.

The carnival begins on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday with La Batalla de Flores (The Battle of the Flowers) which is the carnival’s most important event. It’s a six-hour show presided over by the Carnival Queen with folk dancing, fire breathers, live music and colorful floats. It’s followed by La Gran Parada (The Great Parade) on Sunday, when dance groups compete against each other and festival-goers take to the streets in masks and disguises. 

The Orchestra Festival is held on Monday, dominated by Latin and Caribbean beats and the carnival ends on Tuesday with the symbolic burial of Joselito Carnaval.

The Carnival of Barranquilla was proclaimed a Cultural Masterpiece of the Nation by Colombia’s National Congress in 2002 also the UNESCO declared it one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Barranquilla’s Carnival slogan is: Those who live it are those who enjoy it (Quien lo vive, es quien lo goza).

(Image Courtessy by Radseason.com).