Colorful, rhythmic, and incredibly lively, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or carnival celebrations share much in common around the world, though each country puts its own spin on the festivities. As a fusion of Catholic and Pagan traditions, these pre-Lenten festivities are all about living it up before the customary 40 days of reflection, fasting, and general solemnity.
With historical origins in ancient Greek culture, carnival has been practiced in its present form going back as far as the Middle Ages. Many carnival traditions were brought to the Americas by Europeans and morphed over time, merging with indigenous and contemporary culture and creating celebrations unique to the place where they occur. This is the case with Colombia, which has some of the world’s best recognized carnival traditions, or, as we say in Spanish, carnaval.
Of all of Colombia’s carnivals—it has at least five famous ones—the Carnaval de Barranquilla (Barranquilla Carnival) is the biggest and the most well-known. With truly sensational costumes, dance, and music, it’s an unforgettable experience. Carnaval isn’t just a day, either. It’s an entire season, lasting about a month. Below, we’ll give you all the info you need to decide how you want to participate!
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What is Carnaval?
Carnaval is an enormous celebration of music, dance and visuals that mostly takes place outdoors. Carnaval is present in many Spanish-speaking countries with Catholic influence. In Colombia, you’ll find the biggest celebrations in the city of Barranquilla.
An explosion of folklore tinged with modern aspects, you’ll hear cumbia and drums, see dances with roots in the Congo and Spain, and watch parades featuring handmade materials like costumes, floats, masks and headpieces. You’ll hear songs and watch theatrical performances that sometimes mock important public figures. But don’t worry: it’s all done in the spirit of good fun to remind us not to take life too seriously.
Why does Colombia celebrate Carnaval?
Colombia was under Spanish rule for roughly 300 years, and Catholicism took root during that time. The Catholic tradition of Lent was superimposed on indigenous religious practices, but it doesn’t mean they disappeared entirely. Spanish colonizers, especially the Catholic clergy, introduced the tradition of carnival as a way of enjoying the final pleasures, like meat or alcohol, that Catholics typically historically restricted or gave up for a period of 40 days.
The carnival tradition in Colombia syncretized three cultures: the indigenous traditions such as the Chibcha peoples, Africans customs due to the slaves who were imported by the Spanish, and Spanish culture. In major cities like Bogota, Cartagena or Popayán where important governmental and trade activity occurred, Spaniards were not happy with the way carnaval had evolved in Colombia. Therefore, carnaval flourished in smaller Colombian towns at that time like Barranquilla and Pasto.
With time, each of the carnival traditions evolved into what they are today and some new ones, like the literature carnival, arose. The Carnaval de Barranquilla is the second largest carnival in the world, with Rio de Janeiro being the first. It’s also considered to be part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
When is Carnaval?
Carnaval de Barranquilla occurs the four days before Ash Wednesday. For 2024, this is Saturday, February 10 to Tuesday, February 13.
Just bear in mind that Ash Wednesday occurs 7 weeks before Easter, which is a holiday with no set date, so dates will vary from year to year. That said, pre-Carnaval events begin as early as mid-January, so if you’re planning a trip, you might want to include some of these activities, which we’ll mention below.
Dates for carnivals held in cities outside of Barranquilla may be different!
Where does Colombia’s Carnaval de Barranquilla take place?
Carnaval events occur at different locations within the city of Barranquilla, most of which are close to the Magdalena River or downtown. Barranquilla is located on the northern coast of Colombia, which faces the Caribbean Sea where the Magdalena River meets the sea. The river runs along nearly all of the eastern part of the city. If you find yourself without a map during the festivities, the river provides an easy way to orient yourself!
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Pre-Carnaval festivities
As we mentioned, some pre-Carnaval festivities start as early as mid-January. Most of these early events are a build up to the actual Carnaval. Here are a few of the highlights, some of which continue through the actual four days of Carnaval. Check out the official site for more information, but we might add that these pre-events are all free!
- Exposición Río de Tradiciones: This is an open air exhibit along the Magdalena boardwalk that features a dozen or so giant figures based on the Carnaval. This show starts around the middle of January and stays open through March.
- Fiesta de Comparsas: A few days after the opening of the Río de Tradiciones, the comparsas happen. A parade of dance, music, and impressive costumes, the comparsas have two categories: traditional and fantasy. This second category is open to the interpretation of its creators.
- Fiesta de Danzas y Cumbias: The Festival of Dance and Cumbias takes place on a stage and emphasizes dance and cumbia, a traditional tropical music that’s great to move to. With spectacular costumes and a wide variety of traditions from Colombia, Spain, Africa and beyond, this fiesta aims to please.
- Coronación de la Reina y Rey Momo: Around the end of the 19th century, the character of the Rey Momo appeared. The king and queen are the hosts of the Carnaval, and their coronation means the main festival is about to begin! The celebration happens the day before the official Carnaval takes place. This is followed by the Baila la Calle, open air music meant to be danced to.
Events and traditions of the Carnaval festival
Annual events and locations (in parentheses) are listed below. You can expect them to happen over the course of the main Carnaval weekend. Check the official Barranquilla calendar before you make your plans, as schedules change from year to year. Even last minute changes are possible!
Some of these locations are not easily found on the internet, so when in doubt, we recommend asking a local. You’ll note that some of these events happen more than once but in different locations. For those, we’ve only included one description.
Scheduled Events
- La Batalla de las Flores (Vía 40): One of the most important events of Carnaval, the Flower Battle starts late morning and features many orchestras, floats, folkloric groups, and costumes.
- Desfile del Rey Momo (Calle 17): The King Momo Parade presents the king and queen with dancing, costumes and gymnastics.
- Baile la Calle, Noche de Orquestas (Par Vial de la Cra. 50): More dancing in the streets–this time with live orchestra music! For the record, par vial refers to the two way street part of the Carrera 50.*
- Encuentro de Comedias (Parque Metropolitano): The Comedy Gathering is a great way to improve your Spanish as you listen to dialogs and watch short theater or dance pieces.
- Gran Parada de Tradición (Vía 40): Another one of the major events of Carnaval, the Grand Parade of Tradition puts special emphasis on traditional dances.
- El Desfile de Joselito (Cra. 50 hasta Barrio Abajo): This symbolic burial of Joselito Carnaval—the Carnaval personified—marks the end of the festivities. With the help of some “happy widows,” marimondas (elephant-monkeys) and monocucos (hooded figures), Joselito has his mock funeral complete with multiple “mourners” who lament his passing. He will, of course, be back again next year.
*Note that in the official schedule “cra.” stands for carrera, which means avenue.
Parades
As we mentioned earlier, multiple parades called paradas, comparsas or desfiles take place during Carnaval and pre-Carnaval. Expect cumbia music, energetic dancers, colorful Carnaval outfits (some scantily-clad folks as well), and lots of fun!
Music
Colombia has a long tradition of music, and while you’ll mostly hear cumbia, salsa, and merengue, there are many opportunities to hear folkloric and indigenous music as well. And don’t forget that there’s an important African presence in Colombia, though you’ll sometimes hear a mix of these influences.
On the third day of Carnaval, the Congo de Oro prize is given in eight different categories to the orchestra musicians.
Outfits
The outfits for Carnaval are truly spectacular. Though some are traditional—often cotton and handsewn—others are more modern, made of nylon, plastic attachments, and lots of sequins and boas. Headdresses, weighing several pounds and made of flowers or feathers, crown many of the costumes.
>> Learn 100+ common Spanish words and phrases to help you join in on the festivities!
Things to know before you go
Since dates for the Carnaval vary from year to year, check the dates on Barranquilla’s official site. You’ll need to buy tickets, preferably well in advance, available on that site or through tour agencies.
Although the official Carnaval lasts four days, we recommend attending at least a couple of days before. See our section on Pre-Carnaval festivities above.
Festivals like Carnaval celebrated around the world
As we said earlier, there are many carnivals held in other parts of the world. Here are just a few of the most famous ones.
- Rio de Janeiro Carnival: Held in Brazil, this is the biggest carnival in the world: approximately two million people attend every year. It starts the Friday before Ash Wednesday. Along with incredible dancing, costumes and giant floats and figures, you’ll hear lots of samba music and Brazilian Portuguese.
- Mardi Gras: This event takes place in New Orleans. Beginning on Twelfth Night–the last day of Christmas season, January 6–it goes through Fat Tuesday. With fantastic parades, Cajun music, “Mardi Gras Indians” and great food, Mardi Gras is its own special carnival.
- Venice Carnevale: The carnival in Venice has been happening since the medieval period…and part of it happens on the water! The most important part of Carnevale are the masks. Everybody wears one, often with rich costumes evocative of the Renaissance.
Build deeper connections with Colombian culture and beyond
While carnival traditions exist all over the world, we think the Carnaval de Barranquilla has a special flavor like no other. With Afro-Caribbean rhythms, Spanish traditions, salsa and cumbia, breathtaking costumes and stunning dances, Carnaval de Barranquilla—the biggest carnival in Colombia and the second largest in the world—celebrates life’s pleasures with four intense days of joyous human artistry within a month-long celebration of Colombian culture.
If you want to connect more significantly to Colombian culture, we recommend learning Spanish! Nothing is more informative or more meaningful than a conversation with the people that keep the beauty and vibrancy of Colombian culture alive.
With Rosetta Stone, immersive, bite-sized lessons make learning Spanish fun, while TruAccent helps you sound amazing from your very first course. Plus, get access to a whole variety of language learning tools you won’t get anywhere else.
Written by Rowena Galavitz
Rowena Galavitz is a Spanish translator, bilingual copy editor, and language and literature instructor with three master’s degrees who loves Spanish and all things Mexico.
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