Colombia -Atlantic Coast

Barranquilla

Carnival

The Carnival of Barranquilla is the folk and cultural

festival more important of Colombia. More than one
million people, visitors and locals participate annually
in this event. Some of the most traditional Barranquilla
carnival costumes are Marimonda (barranquillero
unique origin), the Garabato, the Congo and the
Monocuco.

The Marimonda
The costume is made of a
mask with a long nose, large
ears and a suit with patches,
jacket and pants inside out
and is accompanied by a loud
whistle, it was created by a
barranquillero with the aim of
ridiculing and inconveniencing
the 'high society'.

The Garabato
Garabato dance is a typical dance of the Atlantic coast in
Colombia that caricatures a confrontation between life and
death. The word scrawl (garabato) is the name given to
wooden stick with a hook at one end, which has hung
ribbons of red, yellow and green (colors of the flag of
Barranquilla), which is carried by the male members of the
dance. This integrates the various aspects shown in the
beliefs that represents scrawl. The music that accompanies
this musical genre is chand.

The Monocuco

"The monocuco" is the costume for the guy who wanted to hide his
identity. Local folklore says that in the time when Barranquilla was a
village, rich men attracted by the beauty of women of short resources
the guise of "monocuco" were designed to conquer without their
identity be revealed during the carnival, remaining I sheltered from the
gossips. The costume consisted of a broad smock color with a hood to
cover the head, a mask Venetian court that covered the rest of the face
with a piece of cloth, plus the characters was armed with a stick to
threaten anyone who would approach to I admit it.

Typical Food
Fried Crappie
Within the typical
gastronomy of
Barranquilla, the
fried crappie is
one of the most
traditional
accompanied
usually with
coconut rice, fried
plantains and
salad.

Colombia Pacific Coast

Cali

The Cali Fair

Cali Fair, also called Feria de la Caa, is a holiday celebrated

annually since 1957 in the city of Cali Valle del Cauca in
Colombia which takes place between 25 and 30 December. Its
most important events are the Salsdromo, and the
Superconcierto. During their events local, national and
international
orchestras
participate
representing
all
danceable tropical rhythms involved.

Typical Food
The cuisine of Valle del Cauca is delicious and varied. In Cali
and throughout the department you can try dishes such as
chicken stew, the atollado rice and tortilla soup. In Cali are a
variety of sweets snacks, blancmange, gelatin, coconut
candies and shampoos, which is adrink made with corn,
pineapple pulp, pineapple chunks, cinnamon and brown
sugar molasses.

Atollado rice