In the north of Colombia, in the city of Barranquilla, department of Atlántico, one of the the most important carnivals of the South American country.
Although the so-called reading of the proclamation, the official act that opens the carnival season, took place on January 21, this weekend and for four days, Barranquillas, Colombians, and foreigners will enjoy a cultural display of the Atlantic Coast.
The Carnival of Barranquilla is celebrated every year, one weekend before Ash Wednesday, a religious date that begins Lent, the period of recollection that precedes Holy Week.
The celebration begins on Saturday with an impressive parade -headed by the Carnival Queen-, of large, colorful and curious floats, followed by comparsas, folkloric groups, costumes and different characters, which run through one of the most important arterial streets of the city. . It is the so-called Battle of the Flowers that, this 2023, will be 120 years old.
At the same time, on Calle 17, there will be a parade of King Momo, one of the leaders of the carnival, together with the queen.
Sunday and Monday are characterized by the stage performances of folkloric groups, cultural comparsas and emblematic carnival costumes, in the Great Parade of Tradition and that of Comparsas. They refer to a demonstration of dance and music in its most traditional essence from this region of the country.
Mónica Lindo de las Salas, PhD in Educational Sciences and professor at the Universidad del Atlántico, explained to the voice of america that the carnival is characterized by being “an anthropological space, where multiple expressions come together, which is also the differential factor.”
“We have more than 10 different expressions danced with their musicalities, their forms of interpretation, their costumes and each one with stories to tell. For example, the dance of the Coyongos (it is unique in the world), the costume of the marimonda. The dance of the Congo, which is more than 120 years old, has been handed down from generation to generation”, added Salas, artistic director.
On the second day of the celebration, at night, groups, ensembles and musical artists also gather at the Festival of Orchestras. And the festival of litanies takes place, oral expressions in which people, in a tone of prayer, mock, criticize and allude to everyday situations.
The festival culminates with the burial of Joselito Carnaval. In different parts of the city, in a humorous and histrionic way, people carry out burials of the character, surrounded by his widows, while everyone waits a year for him to be resurrected in the next carnival.
National and international heritage
Declared Cultural Patrimony of the Nation by the Colombian Congress in 2001, the Carnival of Barranquilla celebrates 20 years of having been recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, by Unesco.
Sandra Inés Gómez Molina, manager of the Carnival, said in an interview with the VOA that this declaration has “put them on the world map of culture” and allows folkloric groups “to be in strengthening programs” and facilitates “management so that they become visible to civil society, to the community.”
Precisely, “the diversity, the combination of all the ethnic groups that have merged” in this Colombian territory “have allowed us to receive from Spanish culture to African roots, a whole series of cultural knowledge, history and a very strong heritage that makes our carnival so special… Because of that diversity, our carnival has been recognized as heritage,” added Gómez.
The fact of having a declaration by Unesco places the city in the gaze of the global world, says Mónica Lindo.
“Maybe nobody knew that Barranquilla existed before, but today it is a cultural tourism destination, so that makes it very important as a reactivator of the economy and tourism,” the teacher explained to the VOA.
Figures from the Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla indicate that, with the event, a movement of 500,000 million pesos is projected, the generation of 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and the visit of 500,000 national and international tourists is expected, who will be able to participate in more than 250 events .
According to Gómez, the events will have 20 floats, some music trailers, national and international orchestras, and the participation of more than 854 folkloric groups. He also commented that this year, the mapalé will be exalted, as the heritage dance of the year and the cumbia, which this year included in the list of the heritage declaration.
The cumbia, “is a dance of loving character that evokes the fusion of the three ethnic groups, white, indigenous, Afro,” explained the artistic director to the VOA and the mapalé “represents the movements of the fish when it comes out of the water, it is a confrontation dance in couples, strong and sensual.”
During these days, there will also be concerts, public and private parties, gastronomic shows, oral tradition events and tourist tours that complete the great party in northern Colombia.
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