Final Day of Carnaval Barranquilla - Videos and Pictures

The final day (Tuesday) of Mardi Gras is known for the funeral procession of "Joselito Carnaval" the representation of the Carnaval which is deceased (since it is the last day), and is then buried.  Of course it is a parade with dancing nonetheless. This one was right in the street and no fence so everyone can go right up the participants to dance, take pictures, or cry with the many "widows" of Joselito dressed in black (both beauty queens and drag queens) and parading. 

While this Carnaval does not have the topless women and the over the top costumes that the Rio Carnaval is known for, it clearly is a city- and country-wide event with many strong traditions that remain very much alive. For the non-Colombian visitor, it is chance to see live Cumbia, Mapale and other traditional dancing on a large scale, and hear live music of all kinds which is rare to find (live) outside of Colombia and never on this large of a scale. This is also a country of beauty which is very much on display in both the women and the men.  Interestingly, it is also a chance to see a somewhat fractured country come together for a large community-wide event, and of course a chance for a big party which is non-stop, all day and all night for 5 days in a row. 

Even Obama would not miss the festivities as he greets Walter and Vamos Colombia Tour!

The videos will give an idea of the non-stop dancing all the way down the many blocks of the parade. Check out the Mapale and the Afro-Caribbean dancing, and you will get an idea of where Shakira learned her moves! (One video here, the second in the next entry)

The partying, by the way, is famous here for the use of foam and fine white corn powder, both of which are sprayed on everyone when they are drinking, or just watching the parades. We managed to avoid it until the last night, when we found a group of friends of a friend, who quickly became our friends too, found a hoping bar with tables on the street, let go, had fun with everyone else!

Feather and Fantasy at Third Barranquilla Carnaval Parade

Feathers and fantasy costumes were the order of the day on the third and final parade in Carnaval Barranquialla 2009. Many of the same groups as on the first day, but all of them seemed to dance continuously down the long parade route (only 2 hours for this parade, so more managable). We also had the chance to go check out the participants before the parade began for some close up photos. 

Check us out at www.vamoscolombiatour.com

Grand Parade #2 at Barranquilla Carnaval

More pictures from the second day of parades at the Barranquilla Carnaval. Mostly traditional dance groups from different regions of Colombia, complete with traditional and modern costumes and outfits. Here are the pix. 

UNESCO has designated the Barranquilla Carnaval as part of the Intangible Cultural Patrimony of the world.  Perhaps in response, Barranquilla has undertaken a concerted effort to bring young people into the tradition, in order to keep it alive. As a result, the parade is full of young people (in complete costumes and dancing up a storm), as well as the older generation who still cannot get enough. 

Carnaval Barranquilla - Partying is Serious Business!

The Barranquilla Carnaval has three main parades, Sat, Sun and Mon. The parade route is lined with covered stands some which require purchased tickets and others open to the public (we got tickets ahead of time). You get there early for a good seat (we got front row on the corner which was best for pictures), and they have staff which will get you food and drinks as you like (alcohol included).

The first parade is a mix of dance groups, live bands (which even the dance groups have live music with them - seems like nearly everyone in Barranquilla is a musician or a dancer!), beauty queens (who also dance here, I might add), and outrageous costumes. The populations must work the rest of the year on creating the costumes and outfits - some of the dance groups have over 100 people, all with 

the same traditional clothing!

Here is just a sample of the range in the parade. As you can see, the parade is so au courant, even Obama made an appearance (3 times in fact - once with his whole family waiving at the crowd). 

The parade goes for many blocks and take several hours. Young, old, and everyone in between participates. And it is just the first of three days! Now that is a Colombian party!

For dinner we ate delicious Latin-Fusion cuisine that was worthy of California - but at less than 1/2 the price, complete with Martini de Coroso (a tart red tropical fruit only found here).  Of course we had to check out the gay night life, and each place was packed, with live music, live dancers and very alive drag queen performers. Que rico!

Live Cumbia Music Gets all of Carnaval Dancing (Not too hard to do actually)

Vamos Colombia Tour brings you a taste of the live music featured in the free concert in the Plaza de Paz tonight in Barranquilla. A celebration of traditional Colombian cumbia music, with both stars and locals. 

The crowd was dancing along the whole time, with a special part right in front of the stage blocked of for those dancing the whole time, while the rest of the crowd would just sing and dance and cheer as they liked. 

The crowd was a cross section of the Colombian population - all sectors, statuses and colors. Only a few international tourists were glimpsed, although people from all over Colombia come to Barranquilla for the Carnaval each year, especially those who enjoy traditional Colombian music (which is just about all Colombians!)

Notice the traditional woven hat in black and white which is extremely popular at Carnaval, rivaling the Carnaval masks and characters costumes. 

Check out the videos we took:

The street food was plentiful but we did not try it:

Barranquilla - The New Orleans of Colombia

So we figured out that Barranquilla is basically the New Orleans of Colombia: both are large port cities on the Caribbean; both have mixed populations (that don't always mix) with a strong African influence; both flood regularly; both have old classical style mansions which are crumbling down but exude a neglected old style that needs a little cleaning up; both have hot and humid weather (which right now is not too bad due to winds); both love to party and especially on Mardi Gras/Carnaval time when the whole city takes part!

Throughout the city, the buildings are festooned with the typical Carnaval decorations. This is actually a government office in an old mansion. 

The history of the Carnaval costumes as well as the city as a whole is housed in a run down mansion that serves as a museum now (above). 

We went for a drink at "La Cueva" which was an old bohemian writers hang out - noted now for Gabriel Garcia Marquez' presence (a long time ago - see black and white pic below) and it now has been redone and serves as a restaurant and show-place for arts of all types. While we were there, the "King" of this year's Carnaval (and thus quite a celebrity here) showed up to entertain and be interviewed by the international media, which turned out to include us (see above). He is holding a head as that is part of the character who is the theme of this year's Carnaval. Que Chevere, as the Colombian say, How cool is that!

Carnaval in Barranquilla - It's the real thing!

Visitors to Barranquilla will find that holy grail of travel experiences that everyone wants but seldom is actually found: Authenticity!

Barranquilla offers nearly nothing in the way of tourist sites, so what happens here is the real thing. Carnaval times turns the whole city into a big party, or more specifically, many parties happening at the same time all over, for several days in the row.  A the gay life is surprisingly alive!

We arrived on Thursday before "Fat Tuesday - Mardi Gras" which is called Carnaval here. Our day was meant to tour the local hotels for future reference for Vamos Colombia Tour, but it turned into a day long party - starting on the airplane! Avianca raffled off a prize to those with the best Carnaval gear and to those willing to dance up the aisle of the plane! (The free Whiskey and Rum helped!)

When we landed at the airport and picked up the luggage, there was a huge case of beer going around the luggage belt - we thought someone had sent it, but then realized that the bear company also sponsored the live music and group of dancing girls that greeted the arriving passengers. Clearly, the city is in a party mood. 

Then while visiting the hotels, we ran into a Carnival group practicing at one of the fanciest places (The Prado Hotel), complete with famous Vallenato musician Alfredo Gutierrez:

We ate at nice, but not expensive local restaurants, and then met a friend of Walter's who took us to see the local gay nightlight, and there was much to see! Here is just some of it (from gay bar/disco Studio 54):

Along the way, we met new friends too:

Followed by late dinner at 3am! 

And this is just the first day...

[more to come]

Interested in travel to Colombia? check out www.vamoscolombiatour.com

Carnaval in Barranquilla Colombia 2009 gets underway

Vamos Colombia Tour is now visiting Barranquilla to experience the unique UNESCO recognized Carnaval! Moreover, we will report back on the gay side of the Carnaval, which right now is underreported. Check back for more details soon.

UNESCO's recognition can be found at: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?cp=CO&topic=mp#TOC1

The link for the Carnaval itself is at: http://www.carnavaldebarranquilla.org/previo/default.html