Dancing at the Barranquilla's Carnival, the second after Rio de Janeiro

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This weekend had me a blast; a little sad and hopeless, I was wondering what to do to find my searching quest: Relaxation: A push here and there oriented me towards this Colombia´s biggest celebration which I had dreamed of, for a very long time; and my dream, as usual, had turned into that, a procrastinated trip.



A long trip which I had done last year for giving an English lecture, I knew the difference now was that I had to go by bus, quite a difference but a lot cheaper. Little did I know that I would spend a horrible night texting on the bus and that, combined with many copetrans´s endless stopovers, had me exhausted but hey, it was really worth it.



The first thing I remarked was the amount of foreigners interested in the carnival. It was just when I arrived at Bucaramanga´s bus station that I learned about our worldwide fame. Two of them were barefoot wandering on the station, others looking like hippies, three stunning women with big backpacks were all heading to “La Perla del Caribe” as it is popularly called.





But let´s now go into the tale, the Carnival itself





Here, another good party to show to the world, especially now that our worldwide image is about to change, thanks Shakira, you have lots to do with it. Not for nothing has this huge party got the attention of UNESCO and it was indeed declared as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. That was done in November, 2003. Not as huge as the Rio Carnival, you can say, but hey, all in all, it is really worth coming and seeing it by yourself. Here I'll say it again: It is indeed the second largest carnival in the world only second to Rio’s.



So, what's the Carnival then?



The Carnival from the latin “Carrus Navalis” and according to some random internet site, the word in Italian means “”put the meat away””. any connotation for not eating meat? Hold on, I think I got a nice piece of meat that day, sorry, Jesus. I guess I misunderstood the signs, little did I know that the carnival was at the beginning a religious way of celebrating the arrival of the spring. But he who doesn't know shouldn't be blamed, right?



The carnival has its origins in the slaves’ celebration and it dates from 1888 according to the records. It now includes African tribal dances and the charm of the Spanish music, all in all, expect to find a fusion of different cultures you will never forget; you go to this carnival and you enjoy the display of different rhythms on the streets, beautiful dances llike cumbia, mapalé, puya, porro and congo.



Spectators cannot complain of best places to see the parades as the streets are lined up with box seats as it is literally 6 hours to be lots of groups. And as for music, you can’t hear it louder than this, meter high speakers do the job and you can’t avoid it



And do not worry about eating or drinking for there you will find anything you dream of eating barbecued chicken, local street food, arepas, snacks, ice cream, alcohol what else do you want?. That’s right, there are far too many vendors but hey, they need to earn their living too and what better occasion than here at the carnival where there are so many foreigners and Colombians ready to swalloing delicious pieces of food while relaxing and having fun.



Batalla de las Flores



Got there in time to see everything, but it was so difficult to make our way through the crowd, it was all pushing and being pushed

But it was such a lovely day, wonderful views and lots of fun. I realised I was really missing something.

Big parade wagons lovely decorated, with ladies and guys shaking all their body parts like Shakira and yes, some of them were not dressed completely 😊

On that day, I don’t remember how much I drank and what I drank, from aguardiente, our anised drink to beer, rhum, wow, that was a lot of mixing up, funny my head didn't surprise me with any bad reaction




Better than the English?



I had been to the Notting Hill Carnival in London as a dancer in a Colombian group, but let me tell you that I did enjoy this carnival a lot more; not only because it was less tiring as I was just the spectator but I had plenty of time to admire the beauty and colourful costumes, lots of feathers, devils, and monkeys which made me think of Chinese mythology tales. Colombian typical outfits, all with their variety of meanings, as well as that happiness of the costeños.



And I saw only a part of the carnival as I missed the Joselito Carnival passing and also his funeral. On that day, all the people in the parade try to come up with their own version of Joselito death, so there you find lots of coffins, priests, crying women, all mourning the departure of Joselito. La Guacherna, too, A nocturnal adrenalin rush that snakes its way through the city of Barranquilla, eight days before Carnival kicks off in earnest. This year the main event takes place on February 18 so La Guacherna was scheduled for February 11. Just an hour and a half from Official Blogger’s hometown of Cartagena, Barranquilla sits




En Barranquilla se baila así...



Barranquilla is a prosperous city thanks to its location; being situated near the river -12 km from the Caribbean ocean close to the mouth of the River Magdalena- might have encouraged other nearby cities to visit, trade and enjoy its prosperity. But let's not divert from our subject, the carnival: The weather is hot, 39 degrees, the coastal heat is then the excuse to get lots of aguilas and enjoy the fun. I



But it is not only party time in Barranquilla, the whole department comes to light at carnival time with many activites going on in the small villages as I could appreciate from the bus and as I was told too. Its people are known to be probably among the friendliest you will ever meet, well, at least, the family I stayed with, are extremely friendly, lucky me.
A four-day carnival party with plenty of music and floats taking place in February every year in Barranquilla. which starts very long before; I believe it is the election of the queen for the carnival that triggers all these fabulous events. And then officially it is the reading of the edict that initiates the party.



Lovely parties spread out through the city, great, ain't it? everybody dancing and enjoying the festivities in the salsa bars, improvised street clubs and hey, I got to see a similar dance to Lambada, only that this one is even sexier! I would be too embarrassed to try it out myself.



Tons of crazy people everywhere and there I was, ready to partake in the Coast’s festivities




Dance even if you don't



I knew this was an international event but little did I know that there would be so many foreigners there, it was lovely to see them all dance our cumbia and merengue, I couldn’t help but thinking : “Gosh, I wished I had their spontaneity when it comes to trying something new”. Despite ignoring the steps, they let themselves go with the flow (of their beer) and the moving hips of the Colombian dancers, great!!!



What you see is a cacophony of musical groups coming to get you even if you intend to avoid the attacks of foam spray from a hair style container. Which is a game you might not enjoy, but please do not try to get angry or anything, remember you came here for the party not to be vexed.



I was amazed by how long the parade lasts. My god, we got there at nearly 2 pm and then it all went till 8 pm, how come they can resist so much? Maybe I am not Colombian as I thought, I don't have their stamina!!!




But how come I came?



From the beginning of the year, I had planned this trip as I was ashamed of living in Colombia and missing such a wonderful event. So, after being so indecisive and in what it was a failure to contain my fury, I told a student I wanted to go to Barranquilla, and then she suggested I could invite her mum. I thought "wow, this was only a comment" but I didn’t have to wait as her mum said "Oh, yeah, let's do it" and a few hours later I saw myself waiting at the terminal to pick up my copetran bus on my way the carnival.



I really liked her mum's attitude and then I wonder, sometimes we are so complicated that we cannot make up our mind on what we want to do. She might have been European in one of her previous lives, thanks God. In hindsight, I guess I sometimes need a sort of push like this to do things.



Ok, so after 15 hours of bus riding, there we arrived in the city but before having any time to find our coordinates, it was high time to eat. Little worried was I about the place we ate, in fact, I didn't like it that much as I was only concentrated on the tv, eager to be in the middle of the parade. My partner really enjoyed the food and I must say she was a good talker and I greatly enjoyed her company.




Tiny Tiny (a private joke! jajaja)



Lucky me that her family was as lovely as can be. Wow, they were so kind and inviting that they really made me feel part of their family. I had so much fun with them, we laughed, danced, ate, drank a lot. And I am really looking forward to having them here in B/manga soon.



I have to thank them for their hospitality, thanks for teaching me how to eat "butifarras", dance coastal rhythms and overall for how to have a lovely time.



Marimondas

I learned that their dresses aim to laugh at the diverse serious institutions in Colombia



Here’s a programme in Spanish just to give you an idea of what you're missing, this is taken from the net:



Sábado 18 de Febrero:

Batalla de Flores

Lugar: Vía 40

Hora: 1:00 PM

Batalla de Flores de la 17

Lugar: Calle 17 con Carrera 35, Finaliza en el CAI de Simón Bolívar

Hora: 3:00 PM

Festival de Comedias

Sábado, Domingo, Lunes y Martes

Hora: 4:00 PM



Domingo 19 de Febrero:

Gran Parada de Tradición

Lugar: Vía 40

Hora: 1:00 PM

Elección y Coronación de Reina de Reinas

Lugar: Estadio Romelio Martínez

Hora: 7:00 PM



Lunes 20 de Febrero:

Gran Parada de Compersas

Lugar: Vía 40

Hora: 1:00 PM

Festival de Orquestas "Tributo a Joe Arroyo"

Lugar: Estadio Romelio Martínez

Hora: 3:00 PM



Martes 21 de Febrero:

Festival de Danzas Especiales y de Relación

Lugar: Plaza de la Paz

Hora: 1:00 PM

Encuentro de Letanías

Lugar: Plaza de la Paz

Hora: 5:00 PM

Joselito se va con las Cenizas

Lugar: Carrera 54 con Calle 59, Finaliza "Cuchilla" Barrio Abajo

Hora: 4:00 PM



So, a verdict for this carnival?

Well, I don't want to be too extensive but I will only say this: If you want to forget about troubles and worries, come to this carnival so that you forget whatever you have to. Personally, although it was such a hectic decision, I guess it was the best I could’ve made, or else, I wouldn’t have known what the big deal about Barranquilla’s Carnival is.

And if you don't enjoy the dance, at least it is your chance to spray others in white foam!

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Photos

Caseta Crawling!
Now it was high time to dance

Symbols of the Carnival
Isn't that art? I guess so!

Batalla de las Flores
Via 40. This is the most important parade of the Carnival.

Carmen, my travel partner
We had so much fun and laughed lots!

Tiny Tiny
Shame I was not given the keys of the city porque en Barranquilla me quedo!

And the party continued on the streets into the early hours of the morning
Were we drunk? I don´t remember