carnaval's activities

During this time, Barranquilla and a number of outsiders who come to the city abandon the collective enjoyment, to drink and dance. The festivities, which are chaired by the Carnival Queen and King Momo, are lit from the Pre-carnival, which starts "officially" with the whistle announcing the arrival of the new year. Pre-carnival events begin with the reading of the proclamation, continue with the storming of the city, the Coronation of the Queen, the Children's Carnival, the Gay Parade, and the most important celebration of the Pre-carnival, The Guacherna, great night parade a Friday before the Saturday of Carnival, established in 1974 through the initiative of composer Esthercita Forero.


Cumbiamba La Pollera Color.
Carnival begins on the Saturday of Carnival firm with the Battle of Flowers, his central and most important act. It is a great parade of floats, head of the Queen of Carnival, followed by folk groups and bands cumbiambas first organized in 1903 by General Heriberto Arturo Vengoechea to celebrate the end of the War of the Thousand Days.Since 1991 takes place on the Via 40, after having performed for years on the Avenue Olaya Herrera (race 46), alleys HQ (race 44) and July 20 (race 43) and on the promenade of Bolivar. In parallel, other acts carried out as 17 street parade or procession of King Momo and the Battle of Flowers of Remembrance at the Alley headquarters (race 44).
Carnival Sunday, also on Via 40, stages the Great Parade of Tradition, parade established in 1967, where only are traditional folk groups, cumbia and extras. In the parade does not parade floats.
Carnival Monday marks the Festival Orchestra (established 1969), 5 from the early afternoon until early Tuesday. The Festival involved in various musical categories orchestras and groups that are presented in the many dances of the carnival. Winners in each category receive the coveted Golden Congo same day is celebrated on the Via 40 the Fantasy Parade.

By way of closing, the Mardi Gras takes place Joselito Carnaval's funeral, which symbolizes the end of the festivities. On this day in many parts of the city are made humorous "burial" of Joselito, a character who symbolizes the joy of the holidays, who had "resurrected" the Saturday of carnival and "die" on the last day tired and "enguayabado" for "resurrect" the following year in the next carnival. At night is celebrated in the neighborhood below, or Peace Square encounter a funny litany with which, in simple lines and its characteristic tone, vented, criticize and comment on current affairs, national and local international. The next day, Ash Wednesday begins Lent, a period of religious devotion and abstinence preceding the week Santa.

groups and traditional dance

The dance is a vital component of the Barranquilla Carnival, as well as folk music,litanies and costumes. The Carnival of Barranquilla can enjoy happier air coastalfolklore, such as cumbia, puya, Jala, Chand, the joint, bullerengue, bird, mapalé themerecumbé, guaracha, rhythms from Africa or the musical expression of theCaribbean Sea basin, as salsa and merengue, and other rhythms like vallenato,reggaeton and tropical. Cumbia is the main rhythm of Carnival, especially in theparades as the Battle of Flowers and The Grand Parade, where the cumbia or largegroups of couples dance, the man wooing the woman, and woman flirting with it. In addition to the cumbia, highlights the mapalé, rhythm based on the movements of fishand where women and men move by contracting the abdomen, also various traditional dances daily gain greater ground in one of the carnivals the world.

Carnival costumes

The list is almost endless costume of the imagination of Barranquilla for Carnival. One of the most representative costumes marimonda is the unique set of the witBarranquilla, because the rest are of European or African. Was born when aBarranquilla, having no money to dress, came dressed with a bag, tie and trousers old,put upside down and, as a mask, a sack of flour which opened three holes, to mock therest fellow citizens. It also is said to be a mockery of corrupt state officials. Thecostume actually consists of trousers, long sleeve shirt, tie, sweater or vest, and a mask made ​​with a kind of cloth bag with three holes, lined with fabric tubes filled with along nose, like a member virile, and ears like those of elephants, with colored shapes.This costume should always be accompanied by a whistle, rubber, known as "peapea", which serves to express intemperate sound waste and the joy that is disguised as marimonda. Well known is the saying Barranquilla: "It is nothing but the disguise ofmarimonda the jumps you have to give. " Some of the characters and traditionalcostumes and are representative of the Barranquilla Carnival:

La Reina del Carnaval El Rey Momo La Reina Popular María Moñitos La Loca La Danza del Garabato Los grupos de letanías Las cumbiambas La Reina Gay La negra

El Descabezado El Africano Drácula La Marimonda El Torito El Congo El Monocuco Los Cabezones Las Muñeconas El Tigrillo