Barranquilla Carnaval

The city is best-known for its celebration of the fabulous Barranquilla Carnaval, which is a feast for the eyes and ears and is said to be second only to the carnival in Rio, Brazil. The Barranquilla Carnaval is well organised and shows the city at its best. The city starts preparing for this huge event in the second half of January usually (depending on the exact dates) at which time they start to construct stands and place barriers along the routes, causing a certain amount of disruption in a city that is already quite congested.

A carnaval proclamation states that that everyone must enjoy themselves, dance and party wildly and although it does not have the same notoriety of the Rio Carnival the participants and spectators cannot be criticized for a lack of enthusiasm and enjoyment of this spectacular event. Most of the dancers and participants complete the parade on foot dressed in bright costumes and move through the streets dancing, marching and playing music. Floats driven through the city provide prominent positions for the carnival queen and princesses as well as a few other well known personalities.

For those that have never experienced the Carnaval de Barranquilla it is an event that should be added to the 100 things to do before you are too old to enjoy it. “Quien lo vive es quien goza” – “”Who experiences it is who enjoys it” – the official Carnival slogan, However, if you do plan on experiencing it you should plan well ahead of time because even 3 months before the Carnaval hotels in Barranquilla are fully booked and flights to Barranquilla are hard to find.