Barranquilla Carnival

Barranquilla Carnival
Colombia Ministry of Culture
Carrera 8, No 8-09, Bogotá, Colombia
Phone: (57) 1-342-4100
Barranquilla Carnival
Phone: (57) 95-3796621
Online email
http://www.carnavaldebarranquilla.org/previo/contacto.html

For several Saturdays before the carnival begins, dance troupes parade through the streets to rehearse their dances. The pre-carnival activities draw to a close at the end of January, when the carnival proclamation is read out. This is a law stating that everyone must enjoy themselves, dance and party wildly.

Its ultimately the dancing which makes Baranquilla one of the best carnivals to visit in Latin America. Most of the dances are strongly influenced by African traditions, especially from the Congo. One of the greatest spectacles is the Garabato, or “Dance of the Sickle”, in which sickle-carrying men and women in straw hats and white face-paint perform an allegorical dance about life and death. The Congo dance is also worth looking out for, if only to see the towering paper-flower headpieces some of the dignified-looking men have to wear.

http://www.carnavaldebarranquilla.org/