Barranquilla’s Carnival, Colombia

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What is the Carnival of Barranquilla?

The Barranquilla Carnival is the second largest carnival in Latin America after the Rio de Janeiro Carnival and represents one of the most important folkloric traditions of the country. Its motto is “Who lives it, is who enjoys it“, inviting everyone to participate in its colorful and wonderful celebration that fills the streets of the city with hundreds of thousands of people every year.

Carnival in Barranquilla is a tradition that dates back to the nineteenth century and is composed of a wide range of cultural manifestations in which the various forms of folklore dancing prevail. In addition, it features thousands and thousands ofcolorful costumes which, with the help of the imagination and creativity of the barranquilleros, make it one of the most impressive carnival festivals on the continent.

 

 

During the festivities, there is no routine worth, the whole city joins the fintense party that lasts 4 days. The dances are the most important cultural representations during the festivities, with dances such as Paloteo and Congo. In addition, music echoes in every corner of the city thanks to the numerous groupings of drums and wind instruments..

The carnival of Barranquilla has a great and varied program that will keep you going from party to party. The streets of the city are filled with hundreds of colors to welcome the thousands of national and international tourists who come to Barranquilla to experience the festivities at its best.

Due to the great cultural contribution, the Carnival of Barranquilla has been proclaimed as Cultural Masterpiece of the Nation by the National Congress of Colombia in 2002. A year later, it had the joy of being declared one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanityd.

 

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When is the Carnival of Barranquilla?

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The Carnival of Barranquilla has a duration of 4 days of pure partying and parranda. The celebration begins the Saturday before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday.

 

 

History of the Carnivals of Barranquilla

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Origin

Carnivals in Colombia began particularly in Cartagena, which were brought thanks to the arrival of the colonizers, who extended their religious traditions along with the carnival celebrations before Christian Lent. The carnivals were mixed withpre-Hispanic traditions, resulting in a multicultural celebration with great artistic expressions, especially through dancing with dances such as carabalíes congos and mandingas..

Eventually, the carnival festivities stopped due to other festivals that had flourished, allowing the celebration to move to Barranquilla. The arrival of carnivals in Barranquilla was well received, as they previously had no similar festivities, so they quickly sedimented in the city. The oldest record of the carnivals so far dates back to 1893; however, there have been anecdotes from travelers who claim that the festivities were already part of the city since 1829.

Thanks to the varied migration of certain cultures to Barranquilla, a syncretism of these cultures was generated, which resulted in a wide and varied range of authentic cultural expressions. In addition, from these cultural currents, emerged events that today are still maintained in the festivities, one of them is the Lectura del Bando de Carnaval, which was held for the first time in 1865. The Reading of the Bando is a pre-Carnival opening ceremony, giving the keys of the city to the Carnival Queen..

 

Development

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Due to the emergence of the various urban and social scenes, the carnivals were acquiring certain elements that allowed the expression of each of the strata that made up the city’s society. In this way, carnivals became a vehicle of expression for the bulk of the population. In addition, carnivals also allowed expressions of the everyday life of the citizens themselves and at the same time they were days of recreation in which they could go to break their daily routines.

During this period of time, the carnivals were consolidating and building a more structured organization, resulting is the reaction of a “Junta Organizadora del Carnaval“. This board allowed the carnivals to be a vehicle of the citizen reality and also added elements that would represent the political, economic and social realities of the region. From this Carnival Board emerged the first Battle of Flowers.

In 1918 the first Carnival Queen was chosen; however, it was not until the 1930s that the election of the queen became customary until 1936. Over the next few years the carnival grew at a much faster pace, incorporating elements that today are part of the festivities such as the dance halls, “El Sueño del Rey Momo“, the first Gran Parada, the Festival de Orquestas and the Guachema..

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Break

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Later, the carnival presented a strong division, as two strands were generated during the festivities that threatened the celebration of carnivals: the private celebrations in clubs and the traditional celebrations in the streets of the city. The Barranquilla carnival began to lose spaces, so citizen forums and cultural associations were generated to begin to gain spaces again. One of the decisions that allowed the survival of the carnivals was the Barranquilla Carnival Foundation in 1992, along with a new economic scheme that allowed the carnivals to function better.

After the creation of the foundation, old traditions that had been forgotten such as the King Momo parade began to revive. In addition, the foundation also generated new traditions such as the Gran Parada de Fantasia.

 

Consolidation

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During the 21st century, the carnival began to be recognized as acultural institution, which was recognized internationally. In addition, it was recognized asCultural Heritage of the Nation to later be cataloged as Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by Unesco. In addition, the carnival had an extension of the festivities, today counting with 5 days to promote and stimulate the traditions of the city.

 

Where is the Carnival of Barranquilla?

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The Carnival is celebrated in thecity of Barranquilla, capital of the Atlántico District, Colombia..

The city of Barranquilla has a total area of 154 square kilometers where more than 1 million people live.

 

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How the Barranquilla Carnival is celebrated

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Barranquilla Carnival is the manifestation of great cultural elements in one place. The carnivals are celebrated with a great stream of cultural elements that encompass musical features, dance, theater, typical costumes and the comedy that characterizes the people of Barranquilla.

 

Music

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The carnivals have a good musical representation in which you can find, the jalao, the chandé, the vallenato, the champeta and various African and Caribbean rhythms. However, cumbia is the main genre of the festivities, especially in parades that are also accompanied by various dance performances.

 

Dances

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In the carnivals it is possible to observe a large number of dances and rhythms that accompany the parades. Generally, these dances can be divided into three strands: special dances, traditional dances and relationship dances.

 

Special dances

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They are dances that are distinguished by possessing spoken word, since they have an argument. This type of expressions have been present in carnivals for more than a century.

• • Dance of the Devils

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• • The Worm Dance

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• • The Dance of the Farotas
  • Danza de las Farotas

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• Dance of the Indians
• Dance of the Indians

 

Relationship Dance

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They are a type of dance that come from regions mainly from the Colombian Caribbean.

• • Danza de Paloteo

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• • The Dance of the Goleros and the Gallinazos
  • Dance of the Goleros and the Gallinazos

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• Danza del Caiman
• The Cayman Dance
• The Dance of the Pilanderas
• Dance of the Pilanderas

 

Disguises

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Like the dances, these have several categories and can be individual as well as collective costumes.

 

Individual costumes

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These costumes are theproduct of a person’s own individual imagination. Generally, people may reign by historical characters or even characters from television or the entertainment industry and do not possess any associated dances. These costumes make sense on their own and do not need to carry an additional accessory for it to serve its purpose. In addition, they can feature totally innovative and unique creations.

Some of the most common individual costumes are:

• María Moñitos
• The Madwoman
• El descabezado
• The Golden Mohican
• El Mohicano Dorado
• The Clown Carasucia
• The Clown Carasucia
• La Barriga e’ rapo and the Machoman
• Dracula
• Dracula
• Pirate

Collective costumes

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These costumes usually come with several people to make sense, either to make a large group or to complement an assigned theme. Like individual costumes, these do not have any type of dance associated with their costumes and can be either a product of your imagination or based onlegends, myths, social events or costumes that have endured over time.

• • The black Bollongas

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• • The gorillas

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• • The Caribbean Indians
  • The Caribbean Indians

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• • The dolls
  • The dollies

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• The micos
• The monkeys

 

Representative characters

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These characters have a particular function in carnivals and possess responsibilities outside of the holiday season. These responsibilities can be group support, cultural representation, public events and other acts of diligence of the organization. In addition, they are usually people chosen by the carnival organization itself.

• • Carnival Queen

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• • Momo King

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• • Popular Queens
  • Momo King

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• • King Momo and LGBTI Queen
  • King Momo and LGBTI Queen
  • Popular Queens

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• Child Kings
• Kids Kings
• Joselito Carnival (fictitious character, effigy)

 

Letanías

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These are groups known as “Letanieros” and usually consist of a soloist and his chorus. This group performs criticism and jokes in the form of verses about both national and international current affairs. They are seen as a group that performs both personal and individual as well as collective parodies.

 

Comparsas

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These are demonstrations that take place particularly at carnivals. In addition, they have dances, choreographies and music to accompany them. The comparsas have two aspects: Comparsas Tradition and Fantasy Comparsas.

 

Comparsas de Tradición

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The comparsas de tradición are cultural and popular manifestations, they have a certain place in the traditions of the city and the country and are part of the identity of the carnivals. They usually have a choreography and costumes.

 

Comparsas de Fantasia

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They are groups that are the result of collective imagination. Their repertoire of dances and music revolve around a theme of their choice.

 

Verbenas

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These are spaces provided by the city for collective recreation. They also feature food fairs, entertainment live and function as a meeting place for family and friends.

 

Tips for going to the Carnivals of Barranquilla

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If you wish to attend the Barranquilla carnivals, we recommend you to plan your trip in advance, make a travel itinerary and book your preferred lodging in advance.

 

Events in the Barranquilla Carnival

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The Barranquilla Carnival has a structured schedule and each day has a different event. In addition, it has some events, ceremonies and shows that happen before theofficial dates of the carnivals. The Barranquilla Carnival is composed of the following events:

 

Pre-Carnival Events

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One month before the official start of the festivities of the Barranquilla carnival, ceremonies representative of the carnivals are held, which kick off the festivities. In addition, the selection of the various personalities who will represent the carnivals in public events and ceremonies are carried out.

Carnival Flag Raising

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The flag-raising ceremony renders as inauguration of the carnivals. The event usually takes place at the Antiguo Edificio de la Independencia Fluvial Secretaria de Cultura, Patrimonio y Turismo.

 

Reading of the bando

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During the event the mayor hands over the streets of the city to the Reinal del Carnaval. The event is a celebration that grantssymbolic authority to the queen. The event is usually held in Plaza de la Paz.

 

Queen’s Friday

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During the ceremony the previous Carnival Queen crowns the incoming queen, who will lead and represent next year’s festivities. The event is held at the Estadio Romelio Martinez.

 

Gay Carnival

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It is an event that has been officially held since 2002; however, several members of the community have been holding this type of celebration since the 1980s, but in private venues and clubs. In this carnival, the characters that will represent the collective during the festivities are also selected.

 

Children’s Carnival

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During the parade, various activities and parades are held especially for children. Those who make up this ceremony are usually the children of theschools and communities with the participation of their parents or representatives.

 

Guacherna

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It is one of the most attended and important pre-Carnival events. It is a night parade in which folkloric groups participate and people attend in costume.

In addition, the pre-Carnival events also feature some shows and comedy shows that take place in the different points of the city.

 

Official Carnival Events

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Battle of Flowers

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This celebration takes place on Saturday of Carnival and is the first official celebration of the carnivals; in addition, one of the oldest of all festivities.

The parade is led by the Carnival Queen and is followed by folklore groups, floats on horseback, music and percussion bands, traditional dance groups, floats with musical and theatrical performances, flower floats and a host of colorful costumes.

On the same day, the King Momo Parade and Baila la Calle take place.

 

 

Gran Parada de Tradición y Folclor

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The event takes place on Carnival Sunday and features the exclusive participation of folklore groups, comparsas and cumbiambas on foot, so floats are not part of the celebration on this day. Each of the groups performs presentations and repertoires of dances accompanied by music.

During the day, Letanías and Baila La Calle are also held.

 

Gran Parada de Comparsas

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The event takes place on Carnival Tuesday. This event is a conglomerate of cultural elements, as the stage is shared by both cultural groupings and modern artistic expressions. During the event you can see traditional folkloric groupings and costumes with hundreds of feathers and glitter. In addition, floats also participate and involve international musical genres such as the samba, the regueton, the champeta, electronic music and much more.

 

Festival de Orquestas

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It is an event that integrates a large number of bands of different genres. The bands compete to win the Golden Congo. In the event you can see groups and bands of vallenato, tropical music, merengue, urban music, salsa and other genres.

 

Burial of Joselito

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The ceremony takes place on Tuesday of Carnival and symbolizes the end of the festivities. The event consists of afuneral procession containing a coffin with a real doll or person. Behind the coffin come widows and orphaned children mourning the death of the fiestas. The event culminates with a grand celebration of music and litanies.

 

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Barranquilla Carnival Parades

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Within the Barranquilla Carnival there are 3 parades with greater importance: Battle of Flowers, Grand Parade of Tradition and Folklore and Grand Parade of Comparsas. Each of them has unique elements that differentiate one from the other. In addition, they are held on different days.

 

Battle of the Flowers

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It is the most aesthetically detailed parade and features large themed floats, carriages on horseback, musical and folklore ensembles, large colorful costumes and live music. In addition, it features floats with flowery designs that throw confetti to the public.

 

Grand Parade of Tradition and Folklore

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Only cultural groups and comparsas participate in this parade. It is an exclusive space for the transmission of cultural elements through dance and music. This day’s event does not include the presence of floats.

 

Gran Parada de Comparsas

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It is the last and most recent parade of the festivities. In addition, it has a conglomerate of cultural expressions, among which may be mentioned cultural groups of the country and the city, themed parades with colorful and extravagant costumes, themed floats and music of all kinds such as reggaeton, salsa, merengue and electronic..

 

 

Parade route

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All parades take place on Via 40.

 

 

What to eat at the Barranquilla Carnival

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One of the traditional sweets of Barranquilla during the carnival festivities is the granizado or raspado. It is a glass or container with abundant rasp of smell to which is added flavoring syrups such as cola, grape or coconut. It is also covered with a generous layer of condensed milk.

You can also try Arroz de payaso or Arroz de Lisa. This is a traditional coastal dish that consists of red mullet, rice, vegetables and spices. It is usually served in a banana leaf.

In addition, the city of Barranquilla offers a large number of bars, restaurants and cafes that you can visit to expand your gastronomic experience. Some of the most popular places are: Varadero Pescados y Mariscos, Bar Restaurante La Cueva and Cucayo.

 

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Travel Insurance

 

From Carnavalesdelmundo.org we recommend to hire a good insurance to visit this carnival and to know the rest of the country. For being our readers we offer a 5% discount on all IATI insurance. Read more information about all insurance offers here:

 

 

What to see and do inside the Barranquilla Carnival

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Once inside the carnivals, you have a wide variety of activities that you can attend to entertain you from start to finish. If you extend your visit from January to the end of February, you can attend the events of the Reading of the Bando, the Raising of the Carnival Flag, the Gay Carnival, the Children’s Carnival and the Guacherna, all of which are part of the pre-Carnival events.

Once the carnivals begin, you can attend the major participation events such as theBattle of Flowers, King Momo Parade, Grand Parade of Tradition and Folklore, Gran Parada de Comparsas, Festival de Orquestas and Muerte de Joselito where you will be able to see a great number of cultural manifestations, music, floats, groups, dances, theatrical presentations and unique entertainment.

If you don’t want to complicate things, here you can book interesting excursions in Spanish in this city:.

 

What to see and do outside of the Barranquilla Carnivals

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Some of the tourist attractions you can visit in the city of Barranquilla are:

 

Gran Malecon Puerta de Oro

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It is a tour along the river where you can enjoy a long and relaxing walk or enjoy the sunrise or sunset. In addition, you have a lot of stores and street vendors from whom you can buy fast food or snacks.

 

Buenavista Shopping Mall

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It is one of the most important shopping centers. In the precinct you can find a great variety of clothing, footwear and accessories, restaurants and entertainment and fun fairs.

 

Zoológico De Barranquilla

It is an enclosure of 1.6 hectares where you can find about 109 species of native and foreign animals. The zoo was established in 1930.

Also, if you want to visit museums and important buildings in this city we recommend you to book your ticket in advance through Tiquets: .

 

Safety in the Carnivals of Barranquilla

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Security in the city of Barranquilla is one of the most latent problems today. However, you do not have to feel intimidated about it, you just have to follow basic rules of protection and safety.

As far as possible, keep your belongings, valuables and phone in a safe place, carry small amounts of money and try to dress as modestly as possible. Also, avoid going to lonely and deserted places, especially at night. Finally, contact the authorities if you manage to identify any suspicious activity.

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Weather in Barranquilla Carnival

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During the month of February the city of Barranquilla has a pleasant to hot weather, with temperatures ranging between 31 and 24 degrees Celsius. We recommend the use of light clothing, sunscreen and stay hydrated.

 

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How to get to Barranquilla Carnival

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How to get there by plane

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The closest airport to thecity of Barranquilla is the Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport, which receives a good number of both domestic and international flights. Once here, you can use the various means of transportation to get to the city center.

We recommend buying airline tickets through Kiwi.com or Skyscanner where they are usually cheaper. More information on this link to review Kiwi.com..

 

How to get there by car

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From the airport you can take Avenida Boyacá to the city center. The drive is 20 minutes.

 

Where to stay in Barranquilla Carnival

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Booking.com

 

GHL Collection Barranquilla Hotel

5 star hotel 5 km from the city center. Rooms feature air conditioning, desk, minibar and private bathroom. The hotel has a swimming pool, bar, restaurant, airport transfers, parking and free wifi.

 

Hilton Garden Inn Barranquilla

4 star hotel 5 km from the city center. Rooms have private bathrooms. The hotel has a swimming pool, gym, bar, restaurant, parking and free wifi.

 

Hotel Oxford Barranquilla

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4 star hotel 3.6 km from the city center. Rooms have air conditioning, cable TV and private bathroom. The hotel has a swimming pool, airport transfer, restaurant, parking and free wifi.

We recommend you use Booking.com to book hotels at a good price, check more information here:.

 

Thank you for reading

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