Five unmissable events in the Carnival of Barranquilla

An artist performs in the Gran Parada de Comparsas parade during the third day of the Barranquilla Carnival on March 28, 2022. (Photo by Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)

(CNN Spanish) --

"Whoever lives it is who enjoys it" has been the motto of the Carnival of Barranquilla for years, the most important folkloric and cultural festival in Colombia, where over four days the entire town gathers around to enjoyment and joy.

This year, the Carnival of Barranquilla celebrates 20 years of having been declared by Unesco a Masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.

This city on the Colombian Caribbean coast is already prepared to receive thousands of national and foreign tourists.

For this, the mayor of the district of Barranquilla, Jaime Pumarejo, declared civic days (holidays) February 18, 19, 20 and 21, during which this celebration will take place, which actually began on January 21 with a pre-carnival.

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To this end, Carnival of Barranquilla —the organization in charge of the festivity— has announced that this year's program includes 27 major cultural and entertainment events in different sectors of the city.

Here we tell you what are the five must-see programs that any visitor should know to fully experience the Carnival of Barranquilla.

coronation night

This Friday, before the formal start of the Carnival, the coronation of the kings takes place.

On this occasion, they are Natalia de Castro, queen of Carnival 2023, and Sebastián Guzmán, king Momo 2023.

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This event takes place at the Romelio Martínez stadium, with a light and dance show that includes a concert with international artists such as the Puerto Rican duo Zion & Lennox, the Cuban group Gente de Zona, the Gran Combo de Puerto Rico (Universidad de la salsa ) and Checo Acosta, representing Colombian folklore.

Barranquilla Carnival reported that during the coronation show the queen will share the stage with more than 400 dancers from traditional groups and dance schools in the city.

"Dance: my world, my everything" is the name of this staging, the original idea of ​​Queen Natalia de Castro, industrial engineer, dancer and dance instructor, who will present a sample of contemporary dance, sports, international rhythms and traditional Carnival of Barranquilla.

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The battle of flowers of the Carnival of Barranquilla

An artist performs in the Battle of the Flowers during the first day of the Barranquilla Carnival on March 26, 2022. (Photo by Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)

The battle of flowers is the central parade that marks the beginning of the Carnival, and it is also the most important and oldest, which this year celebrates 120 years of history.

It takes place along route 40 (industrial zone of Barranquilla), which every year becomes the Cumbiódromo, with a route of more than 4 kilometers.

On both sides of this avenue the boxes are installed, structures with chairs from where the public can appreciate the passing of the floats, troupes and costumes.

The floats are trailers decorated with colorful structures that serve as a platform to transport the kings of the festival and characters from the national show business that join the massive parade on Saturday Carnival.

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In commemoration of the 120th anniversary of this emblematic inaugural event, a special staging is planned to commemorate the tradition that began in 1903, after the end of the Thousand Days War.

The battle of flowers was named like this to symbolize the end of this war conflict and that flowers were thrown instead of bullets.

Even today the custom is preserved, and the public stationed on the platforms throws flowers to the best comparsas or to the floats that they like best or dance best, in their opinion.

The great stop of tradition

This parade takes place on the second day of carnival (Sunday).

In it, the traditional and ancestral dances of these festivities have a leading role, such as the cumbia, the mapalé, the garabatos, congos, the harlequin devils and they are in black, among others.

Nearly 300 folkloric groups participate in the great parade that dance along the Via 40 Cumbiódromo, commanded by the queen and king Momo.

This event has been held since 1967 and is accompanied by troupes and costumes that display their creativity and color.

This time, the tour is done on foot, no longer in carriages.

BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA - MARCH 28: Artists perform in the Gran Parada de Comparsas parade during the third day of the Barranquilla Carnival on March 28, 2022. (Photo by Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)

dance the street

In order to offer more spaces for enjoyment and distraction, Carnival of Barranquilla and the Mayor's Office created this event since 2017, in which the Carrera 50 Par road is closed and becomes pedestrian, and there are stages where musical groups perform and people gather to enjoy a parallel party.

Baila la calle is considered the largest open-air dance floor of Carnival, and it takes place from February 17 to 19.

The event combines music, dance and samples of local gastronomy in one place.

The burial of Joselito Carnaval in Barranquilla

On Tuesday, the last day of Carnival, the celebration closes with the symbolic burial of Joselito Carnaval, the spirit of the party, almost always represented with a life-size rag doll that walks the streets in a coffin, while the public mourns him. .

In a fun staging, the queen of Carnival dresses in black on this occasion and in the company of a procession of "widows" they lament the departure of Joselito, while shouting in unison: Oh, José.

This parade is once again accompanied by dance groups and comparsas, this time not in the Cumbiódromo, but along Carrera 54 and the Prado and Barrio Abajo neighborhoods of Barranquilla.

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