Festivals in Colombia

Colombia, a nation with a rich tradition and culture boasts of a number of colorful festivals. The Colombian calendar is full of festivals, carnivals and fairs. Some celebrations are local, others are national. Some last a day, others go on for several days. This means that almost every day there is a festival taking place somewhere in Colombia.

The festivals are unique and the people celebrate these festivals with much fervor and zeal. 

Carnival of Blacks and Whites (Spanish: Carnaval de Negros y Blancos) held from January 4th to January 6th in Pasto. Its origins date back to the Spanish rule times when slaves were allowed to celebrate on 5th and their masters showed their approval on 6th by painting their faces white. January 5^th was the day of the Blacks. During the day of the blacks, the African slaves had a free day in which they unleashed all their happiness, people play on the streets to paint each other in black with colors and cosmetics created for this special purpose.

January 6th is the Day of the Whites. During this day, the people play to paint each other in white using white colors and cosmetics as well as throwing each other white powder and talcum. On the day of the whites, the final parade takes place with the presentation of floats, krewes, musical and dances groups, and people in costumes, all of them competing for the prizes. The carnival floats are works of high quality and originality elaborated by local artisans who spend the entire year preparing their carriages for this occasion.

The Flower Fair is held in Medellin between July and August with its flowers parade called Desfile de Silleteros. It’s the largest exhibition of flowers held in Colombia. This annual celebration has been going strong since 1957 and is always held during the first two weeks in August. One of the highlights of the fair is the Desfile de Silleteros, which sees processions of campesinos move slowly through town with large wooden constructions on their backs, each decorated elaborately with flowers of every color and fragrance. The biggest parade takes place every year on 11 August, which is a local holiday. The fair also features exhibitions of orchids, flowers and artisanal crafts. There are flower arranging competitions, a parade of classic cars, a beauty parade to find the Queen of the Flowers and, like all Colombian gatherings, plenty of live music and dancing.

Cali Fair (Spanish: Feria de Cali), held in Cali from December 25th to New Year's Eve. It is famous for its Salsa marathon concerts attended by renowned Salsa bands. There are horseriding parades (Spanish: cabalgatas), masquerades and dances groups. Every Christmas the people of Cali can be found out in the sun, enjoying the rich festival programme that makes up one of Colombia's most renowned national events, the Cali Fair (or Feria de Cali).

The city proudly boasts the title of salsa capital of Colombia, if not the world, and unlike most large Latin city fairs (like the Córdoba and Seville Fairs in Spain), which concentrate on livestock, this event is built around salsa parties and parades.

Vallenato Legend Festival (Spanish: Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata). This is one of the important festivals in Colombia held in Valledupar, Cesar, in April or May. The festival is a celebration of vallenato music and also a competition to find the best accordionist of the year and to select the Vallenato King (Spanish: Rey Vallenato) among hundreds of participants from all over the country.

There are also some other festivals that are celebrated the the people of Colombia which are popular among them. Pubenza Festivities (Spanish: Fiestas de Pubenza), in Popayan is known for its competition of Chirimias (folkloric musical groups). Manizales Fair (Spanish: Feria de Manizales) celebrated in the city of Manizales the first weeks of the year. Costume groups in fancy dress take over the city. A congeniality coffee queen is elected and bullfighting (Spanish:faenas) takes place.

Barranquilla's Carnival (Spanish: Carnaval de Barranquilla), with a century long recorded history holds the second largest carnival paradise on earth after Rio de Janeiro’s. Bambuco y Sanjuanero Festivals in Neiva held on June 28th and June 29th for Saint Peter's and Saint Paul's days.

Colombian Folklore Festival (Spanish: Festival Folklórico Colombiano) in Ibague highlights the folklore of the nation. Medellin's Tango Street (Spanish: Tangovía) on Carlos Gardel Avenue in the suburb of Manrique.

Joropo National Festival (Spanish: Festival Nacional del Joropo) in Villavicencio in December. Candles and Lanterns Festival (Spanish: Fiesta de Velas y Faroles) is held in Quimbaya, Quindío on December 7 and 8. Each of the barrios in the township competes to produce the most spectacular lighting arrangements.

Green Moon Festival (Spanish: Festival de la Luna Verde) celebrated in San Andres Islands is a unique festival with characteristics that make it different from any other festival in Colombia. Here the Afro-Caribbean influence is very strong, and predominance of the English language lyrics of Calypso and Reggae.<