Colombia’s Carnival of Blacks and Whites is A Festival You Have to See to Believe
If you ever find yourself in Pasto, Colombia, between January 2 and January 7, you will be in for an unrivaled cultural treat. During those days, people come together for a week-long, year-end celebration with parades, costumes, and revelry in the streets.
Colombians have celebrated the Carnival of Blacks and Whites in Pasto since 1546. And has undergone some upgrades and changes along the way. Most notably, in November 2001, the Colombian Congress named the festival a “Cultural Heritage of the Nation.” This led to the construction of a permanent Plaza of Carnival and Culture in the town. In 2009, UNESCO named the festival one of the world’s masterpieces of oral and intangible human heritage.
Here is what goes down when the town of Pasto, Colombia, turns into a massive festival.
The Carnival of Blacks and Whites starts on January 2 with a celebration of the Virgin Mary, Colonies, and Pastorock
Since 2000, they added January 2 as an official day of the week-long Carnival celebration. People from around the region showcase their cultural symbols of where they are from and music that develops alternative music from the area. Parades fill the streets during this day. And the people of Pasto, Colombia, and around the country come to celebrate the various parts of Colombian culture.
January 3 is all about the niños and their own celebration of Carnival
Carnavalito, the second day of the week-long celebration, is dedicated to the children. What began as an unofficial game among the children imitating the adults’ Whites’ Day parade has become an official part of the celebration.
During this day, the children take to the streets and have their parade. The celebration includes miniature floats designed to emulate the floats the adults create. The day went from an unofficial part of the celebration to an official one as the adults saw the growing popularity of the children, making space for themselves to participate in the larger celebration that fills Pasto, Colombia.
On January 4, you know that the party is about to begin as the Castañeda family arrives
The story continues about a family from the eastern part of the country who made a pilgrimage and passed through Pasto, Colombia. While their fate is unknown, they were a colorful group that left a legacy still celebrated today. On this day, people dress as the cast of characters, weighed down with suitcases, cooking utensils, and other exaggerated props, to celebrate a family that will live on in the hearts of those from Pasto, Colombia.
Black’s Day happens on January 5 and celebrates the freeing of enslaved Africans
On Blacks’ Day, people celebrate the day that enslaved Africans were freed to live their lives with the desires they held dear. The queen of the Carnival of Blacks and Whites rides through town on this day and passes out cosmetics for people to use to paint their faces black in homage to this day. The painting historically means to homogenize the celebrators regardless of social or ethnic group. You will often hear two phrases on this day: “Qué vivan los Negros! (Hurray for the Blacks)” and “Una pintica por favor! (A little beer, please!).”
The big floats come out on Whites’ Day on January 6
Whites’ Day is marked by the extravagant and incredibly colorful floats that parade through the town to celebrate the event. Thousands of people watch the parade, throwing confetti or streamers at the parade participants as they dance and sing through the streets. The parade through Pasto, Colombia, ends at the Plaza of Carnival and Culture. This is a departure from Epiphany Day, which the people have replaced with celebrating the Grand Parade. As with Blacks Day, people paint their faces white to celebrate this day.
The Carnival of Blacks and Whites shines a light on rural communities on January 7
The last is all about rural communities and the partaking of guinea pigs, the traditional delicacy of Colombia. On this day, people enjoy the traditional meal while exploring fairs set up in rural communities around Pasto, Colombia, to end the week-long celebration.
Have you ever been to the Carnival of Blacks and Whites? Let us know!
