CARNAVAL DE BARRANQUILLA

Considered one of the three biggest carnivals in Latin America (along with those of Rio and Oruro), the Barranquilla Carnival was inscribed on Unesco's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2008. Its diverse origins range from the medieval carnivals of the Old World, to the festivities of Cartagena's African quarters during the slave era. The legacy of burlesque disguises and the staging of the most tragic episodes of colonization has been enriched for two centuries by African and indigenous traditions and rituals. In the four days leading up to Lent, locals and tourists alike are both spectators and actors in an outpouring of joy, to the sound of percussion and folkloric presentations. Carnival is indescribable - it has to be lived! " Quien lo vive es quien lo goza " (he who lives it is he who enjoys it), we're delighted! But the party starts as early as January: this is pre-carnival, which begins with the raising of the flag and the reading of the decree(Lectura del Bando) that orders the start of the festivities. This is followed by dance and theater presentations by children's and adult troupes, concerts and the crowning of the Queens of the various districts and Reyecitos, the Child Kings. Pre-carnival ends with the crowning of Queen and King Momo(Rey Momo). Then it's time for the real carnival, with the "Battle of the Flowers", a parade in which people compete against each other with flowers. The party continues unabated, day and night, with numerous parades and folk festivals, such as the "Grande Parade", to the hypnotic rhythms of cumbia and garabato... But soon Barranquilla is in mourning. On Calle 84, the Queen, dressed in black, weeps as she accompanies "Joselito Carnaval", the character who embodies the spirit of Carnival. Joselito enjoyed himself without limits, without sleeping, without going home. Completely drunk, covered in cornmeal, he danced to the end of his strength, hasta que el cuerpo aguante... On Mardi Gras, he was found lifeless. A tragedy. On Ash Wednesday, in front of "Joselito Carnaval's" coffin, between tears and cries of pain, the Queen fainted. But during the funeral, "Joselito" miraculously wakes up and shouts: " No estaba muerto... estaba de PARRANDAAAAA! " (I wasn't dead, I was celebrating!). And so the Carnival comes to an end, in the spirit of madness so characteristic of the Barranquilleros!