The Barranquilla Carnival () is one of Colombia's most important folkloric celebrations, and one of the biggest carnivals in the world. The carnival has traditions that date back to the 19th century. Four days before Lent, Barranquilla decks itself out to receive national and foreign tourists to join together with the city's inhabitants to enjoy four days of intense festivities. During the carnival, Barranquilla's normal activities are put aside as the city gets busy with street dances, musical and masquerade parades. The Carnival Of Barranquilla includes dances such as the Spanish paloteo, African Congo, and indigenous mice y mica's. Many styles of Colombian music are also performed, most prominently cumbia, and instruments include drums and wind ensembles. The Carnival of Barranquilla was proclaimed a Cultural Masterpiece of the Nation by Colombia's National Congress in 2002. Also the UNESCO, in Paris on November 7, 2003, declared it one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
The Carnival starts on the Saturday before the Ash Wednesday with the Battle of the Flowers (La Batalla de Flores), which is considered one of the main activities. Then, The Great Parade (La Gran Parada) on Sunday and Monday is marked by an Orchestra Festival with Caribbean and Latin bands. Tuesday signals the end of the carnival, announced by the burial of Joselito Carnaval, who is mourned by everyone.
The slogan of the Barranquilla Carnival is: Those who live it are those who enjoy it (Quien lo vive, es quien lo goza).
History
Very little is known about exactly how and why this carnival began. There are many theories; the most popular belief is that the carnival is the welcoming of spring and a celebration of birth and renewal. The carnival originates from a combination of pagan ceremonies, catholic beliefs and ethnic diversity and is a mixture of the European, African and Indian traditions, dances and music. It was at first a holiday for slaves, and grew to be a celebration of the region.
Local beliefs date it back seven centuries and it is known that a great deal of the traditions were brought to America by the Spanish and Portuguese. The first notable date in the Carnival's history is 1888, when a figure known as King Momo appeared in the documented history of the Carnival. In 1903, the first known battle of the flowers was recorded, apparently to recover a long lost carnival tradition and, fifteen years later, the first Barranquilla Carnival's queen was chosen to preside over the festivities of the carnival, which was later institutionalised in 1923. In the years that followed the carnival grew and so did the traditions, including the integration of the great parade.
Chronology 1888: King Momo emerged as one of the main characters. 1899: The first President of the Carnival and the first Board of directors were elected. 1903: The first Battle of Flowers parade (Spanish: Batalla de las Flores) (due to Heriberto Bengoechea's initiative in order to recover the carnival tradition of the previous years, as well as to celebrate the end of the One Thousand Days War ( Spanish: Guerra de los Mil Dias).) 1918: Alicia Lafaurie Roncallo elected as the first Carnival Queen. 1923: The Carnival was institutionalised, since the queen contest had been cancelled for the 5 previous years. 1967: The Great Parade event was introduced. It now takes place on the second day of the carnival, usually on Sundays. 1969: The Orchestra Festival was created, which is a musical competition ranging over various genres. 1974: The first Guacherna took place due to Esther Forero's initiative. The Guacherna is now celebrated on the previous week Friday before the carnival formally starts. 2002: The Carnival was declared as a National Culture Heritage by the Colombian Senate 2003: The Carnival was proclaimed by UNESCO on November 7, as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Pre-Carnivals
The festivities, which are presided over by both the carnival queen and the Momo King elected the previous year, starts non-officially just after the New Year's Eve. The pre-carnival events begins officially with the Lectura del Bando (The reading of the Carnival Proclamation), followed by la toma de la ciudad (The taking Of the city), the crowning of the Carnival Queen and the Momo King, the children parade, the gay parade and finally La Guacherna, a nocturnal parade regarded as the most important pre-carnival event.
The Reading of the Carnival Proclamation
The reading of the Carnival Proclamation is one of the most important pre-Carnival events, because it officially marks the beginning of the pre-Carnivals. In this act, which takes place traditionally at La Paz Square, the current Barranquilla mayor symbolically grants the keys of the city to the carnival queen, hence "ceding" their power to her for as long as the carnival season lasts. This proclamation may be seen as a "decree" divided into paragraphs that explains what is permitted and what is forbidden for the attendants during the period of celebration. Each paragraph includes recent and gripping happenings of the city that incentivise the revelry. It is read publicly by the queen during a folkloric act accompanied by the Momo King, the children kings and displays of folkloric dance groups.
The Crowning of the Carnival Queen The coronation event for the new Carnival Queen is held on the Thursday preceding the Battle of Flowers parade. During this show, the previous carnival queen crowns the current carnival queen, amid a party with full of dancing and music. It is currently held at the Romelio Martinez Stadium. Nevertheless, the crowning act dates back from 1918 when the first carnival queen, Alicia Lafaurie Roncallo, was crowned at the disappeared Barranquilla Club. Ever since the tradition of electing the carnival queen among upper-class young women of the city to preside over the festivities have been maintained, which has made commonplace to see, read and hear how the crown has been only rotated among a few families: Gerlein, Donado, Vengoechea, Lafaurie o Abuchaibe. This tradition is mainly because a large part of the spendings, for instance those related to the attire worn by the queen during her crowning, are paid by the queen's family. This undoubtedly has been criticised since non-upper-class young women cannot aspire to hold the queen title due to the astronomically high sums of money that costs to be the carnival queen. Nevertheless, according to the official call statement, the candidate crowned as the carnival queen is that one showing excellent dancing skills, charisma and carnival spirit to the 11 members of the carnival board, who privately meet annually and elect the queen six months before the beginning of the carnival.
As for the show, it is a marathon of dancing styles, and it has become the most demanding test for the carnival queen over time, because during which the carnival queen has to demonstrate her dancing skills by gracefully dancing a myriad of musical genres, such as cumbia, salsa, merengue, champeta, mapalé, etc. This show is accompanied by members from some of the most important dancing groups participating in the carnival and by national and international singers, as the Dominican Juan Luis Guerra who made part of it in the 2014 carnivals. Also, during this event, the official song of the carnival queen is presented. By the way, the Carnival Queen is usually selected in August so that she has enough time to prepare for the Carnival.
The Children Parade The Desfile del Carnaval de Los Niños, the first official parade of the Carnival season, is a parade for children in which school and community dancing groups participate as well as the child kings. In this parade, mini-floats adapted to the size of the children are seen travelling on the main streets of the city.
La Guacherna
La Guacherna is a nocturnal parade and is considered as the most important pre-carnival event. It takes place on the Friday before the beginning of the carnival week. Many folkloric groups, cumbiambas, tamboras, disguises to the light of candles and people holding color lanterns participate in the parade itself and its related events.
La Guacherna unofficially started as early as the beginnings of the 20th century in barrio Abajo. In its beginnings, during the pre-carnival days, people used to call others by playing a guache (percussion instrument producing a similar sound to that of a maraca) to signal the commencement of dancing, which was accompanied by tamboras and flauta de millo as well as by candles to illuminate the night, making the surrounding people joyful. In 1974, this tradition was formally revived thanks to the music composer Esthercita Forero's initiative, who, along with Alicia de Andréis, achieved to make the carnival board introduce it as part in the carnival program. This parade did not exist formally until that year and it was named as La Guacherna after its creator, Esther Forero.
The idea of bringing about such a nocturnal parade in Barranquilla's Carnival dates back to a night in 1958, when Esther was at a nocturnal parade in Santiago de Cuba, prompting her to ask around among folklorists about it the following days and hence learning that the parade, named as La Conga Parade, came to existence after many small groups had been gathering from across Santiago de Cuba Province over time. She then remembered that her city, Barranquilla, did not have a nocturnal parade in its carnivals, therefore as soon as she came back to her city, she decided to achieve to bring about a similar parade and then named it as La Guacherna – that name originated from a memory she had back her childhood of when cumbia groups would go out on the streets to rehearse their rhythms and the surrounding people would say a Guacherna was passing by. In short, that great nocturnal parade was created in 1974 and still exists as a great and brightly nocturnal parade.
The insignia song of this date is the merengue song with the same name "La Guacherna", a composition by Esthercita Forero herself, and whose most known version is that of the Dominican Milly Quezada.
The carnival is celebrated during the four days before the Ash Wednesday. People party widely and wear disguises as an act of fun and a lack of inhibition. During this time, Barranquilla people and foreigners coming in the city submerse themselves in the collective joy, drinking and dancing.
Saturday of Carnival
The Saturday before Ash Wednesday is the first full day of Carnival activities. The celebration starts off firmly with the Battle of Flowers, which is the most important and most expected event. It is a great parade of floats, headed by the Carnival queen and followed by folkloric groups, disguises, cumbia groups and other dancing groups, winners of the last carnival's competitions. It is the local version of Pasadena's Rose Parade in the United States. The Battle of Flowers is the oldest parade carried out in the Barranquilla Carnival, and was organised for the first time in 1903 through General Heriberto Arturo Vengoechea's initiative. The general who was looking for a way to celebrate the end of the long Thousand Days War that had claimed thousands of lives. With this event, the carnival resumed as it had been suspended since 1900.