Barranquilla's Carnaval is a carnival with traditions that date back to the 19th century. It takes place for four days preceding Ash Wednesday. During the carnival the city of Barranquilla's normal activities are paralyzed because the city gets busy with street dances, musical and masquerade parades. Barranquilla's Carnival is reputed for being second in size to Rio's.
Carnival´s History
The Carnival of Barranquilla has its remote origins in the carnival that came to America from Spain. So he has a spirit of renewal and change similar to that inspired this holiday season in Europe. The first carnival held in the city is lost in history, more than a century ago, when Barrie was a small population. However, by word of mouth, have circulated various stories about how people celebrated the Barranquilla carnival as always ingenuous, funny, festive, and above all healthy, have been allowed to keep a tradition that goes back three centuries. The carnival, of European origin, were introduced to America by the Spanish and Portuguese. The history of Barranquilla have come to the conclusion that was made in Cartagena de Indias, in colonial times as slaves party, by that time appeared on the streets black with traditional instruments and special costumes, dancing and singing. The traditional novena of La Candelaria, Cartagena de Indias, framed a magnificent dance in the eighteenth century a holiday granted to blacks brought from Africa muzzles.
Customs and Typical Dances
Monocuco:
The monocuco is the disguise of the individual who wanted to hide his identity. Local folklore says that the time was a village Barranquilla, rich men attracted by the beauty of women of short resources monocuco devised the costume to conquer without revealing their identity. The figure was assembled from a stick to threaten those who would like approach to recognize it.
Marimonda:
Marimonda in the beginning defined the mocking Barranquilla and few resources. To disturb the high society of his town, that created a costume barranquillero fact patches suit, jacket and pants upside down with a big nose mask phallic, big ears and a whistle scandal with which ridiculed the fat cats. In this sense has changed: it symbolizes the kind funny and "cocksucker cock."
Congo:
The Congo is one of the oldest Carnival costumes. According to the study the researcher Carlos Franco Medina, the dress is typical of a war dance originally from the Congo in Africa. Colombia is known through the councils of the black Africans were held in Cartagena.
La Cumbia:
"Cumbia is an artistic expression on the Caribbean coast, where it spread throughout the interior of Colombia and was screened in global terms. Outside is synonymous with Colombia cumbia: cumbia is thus the musical air we identified internationally. "So says the anthropologist Aquiles Escalante.
El Mapale:
It is the most traditional African dances, where the movements of waist, hips and arms of the dancers go from the slow and sensual to the fastest. It was originally a dance of work performed at night.
El Congo:
It is a dance war dance from Africa that is accompanied by a fauna and musicians running drum and guacharaca accompanying the singer. His choreography includes a battle of the bull with the Congo.
Typical Music Instruments
* The millo flute: The millo flute or whistle atravesa'o is a musical instrument, apparently of African origin, which is used mainly in the cumbia, the flute is made from millo cane forming a tube cane open at the ends with a vibrating reed cut from the same tube and four digital ports, runs transversely.
* Guacharaca: is a musical percussion instrument usually made out of the cane-like trunk of a small palm tree. The guacharaca itself consists of a tube with ridges carved into its outer surface with part of its interior hollowed out, giving it the appearance of a tiny, notched canoe. It is played with a fork composed of hard wire fixed into a wooden handle.
* El alegre: The drum happy, more or quitambre used in traditional music ensembles in the departments of Bolivar, Cesar, Atlántico and Sucre. The body of the instrument was built with the hull of the trunk of a tree called the bank. Its shape is conical and is about 70 inches high by 28 diameter at the top, where is the membrane, and 25 inches in diameter at the lower end, which is left open. The patch is made from calfskin, alligator belly, deer or goat skin. The elements are assembled with bands of reeds and wooden pegs used to tune the drumhead.
* La tambora: Is a cylindrical drum that is used in the field cumbiamba or instrumental music for dancing. Percussion runs with two sticks. It consists of a straight pipe and two membranes made from goat leather or doe. The elements are assembled with the help of a cylindrical ring that arise strings arranged in a Y, which are used to tune the instrument patches.
EscucharLeer fonéticamente.
* El llamador: The llamador, the smallest drum of all, also called male, marking the rhythmic cadence or rhythm, making it the only one not to allow so-called "gyrations" or "luxuries"in its interpretation.
Art and Handicraft
SOMBRERO VUELTIAO:
EL GARABATO:
CUMBIAMBERO:
pre-carnivals events
la Lectura del Bando:
On 20 January each year, the carnival celebrations in Barranquilla (Colombia), a city located along the Caribbean Sea at the mouth of the Magdalena River, beginning with the reading of the proclamation, decree a kind of carnival in which the Queen chosen on that occasion, and has ordered the establishment of the rule of joy in the city. What they said unless the text published below is a kind of linguistic matrix in which it is all the joy of the Caribbean north of Colombia.
la Guacherna:
The Guacherna, fantastic parade on Friday night before the Saturday of Carnival, established in 1974 through the initiative of composer Esthercita Forero.
PARADES
Batalla de flores:
This beautiful battle is rooted in the beginning of the century when the country was the war of the Thousand Days (between 1,899 and 1,902) and, as an act of solidarity, the mayor at the time ordered the suspension of the Carnival. Over 1,900 and 1,902 did not organize the party. After signing the peace, the mayor authorized the return to the festivities. That was when General Heriberto Bengoechea said, "Let's make a tribute to peace, change what we were experiencing, it was a battle to lead a battle ... but with flowers."
Desfile de la gran parada:
is performed Parade Parade, featuring the popular dances Torito, the scribbly, that of pilanderas and cumbia, dance in which they fuse elements of indigenous, black and cumbia blancos.La simulates a courtship couples, characterized by elegance and the subtle movement of hip women, drum and flute are millet.
Desfile de la 44:
From the early hours, the carnival atmosphere in the race 44 and Barranquilla increases in all sectors, especially the Citadel July 20, La Ceiba, Villa Adela and Muvdi, fill all the spaces of the race. In point of departure, Calle 76 and Carrera 44, is danced to a marching band and the respective practice and choreography in output expected Battle of Flowers of Remembrance, which began around two in the afternoon amid of old cars, where the queens are popular.
Desfile de la 84:
Doodle open the North parade, the Parade organizer 84 and a variety of extras and costumes. It is traditional in this parade of the carnival queen rigorous view of black representing the main widow Joselito Carnaval. In the parody, the sovereign to the faint cries inconsolably. Then, dances, parades and cumbia, reappear on the street 84 to finish with music and dance before the eyes of the audience that gathered on the sidewalks.
Desfile Gran parada de fantasia:
Children parade with their original extras, giving the audience throughout the show with their outstanding costumes. About 50 troupes and dance schools traditionally become the Via 40 in the most beautiful dance floor, decorated with colorful, eye-catching choreography and colorful costumes. There are usually two hours of fantasy, luxury and dance.
Desfile Gran Parada de Tradición y Folclor:
The most important event of the second day of the Carnival of Barranquilla is the "Parade of Tradition and Folklore", which for more than six hours and along the Via Cumbiódromo 40, about 200 cumbias, dance from Congo, blacks , relationship and Indian, like extras in tradition, captivate with their joy and beautiful vestuarios.En this parade, the queen of every year wearing a fancy costume, usually complemented with pheasant feathers and a bright makeup on her face . Queen and King Momo are cheered by the parade, like the Queen Popular and respective viceroy.
