Paloteo represents the collective force and living memory of the festival, highlighted the director of the Barranquilla Carnival, Juan José Jaramillo.
Cumbia as a symbol of the Caribbean nAmong the participating groups, the cumbiamba La Gigantona stood out, where 240 dancers, with wide red skirts and traditional white costumes, performed this rhythm that synthesizes the cultural heritage of the Colombian Caribbean. "The morena dances it, and the mona dances it, the whole world dances it because the Gigantona has arrived," they sang as they advanced before the public that accompanied the parade.
The fusion of African drums, flutes born with the indigenous cultures of America, and elegant costumes taken from the Spaniards shows that cumbia reflects one of the most representative expressions of the Barranquilla Carnival.
Satire and oral tradition nThe day also included the Festival of Letanías, a space where oral tradition, satire, social criticism, and popular wit are exalted, in which groups recite satirical verses. The controversy over the minimum wage, the situation in Venezuela with the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the peace dialogues, and the deportations of migrants by the United States were part of the repertoire, presented as a parody of religious chants.
Although in its beginnings, the letanías were not accepted in the carnival because they were considered vulgar, today these criticisms of political leaders and jokes about current affairs have become part of the tradition and have consolidated as a space for popular criticism and humor within the festival.
More than 130 folkloric groups paraded this Sunday in the Great Tradition Parade of the Barranquilla Carnival, where their representations reaffirmed the role of these expressions as the heart of this festival declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
To the rhythm of drums and with traditional costumes, the groups participated from early morning in this parade of the 'cumbiodromo' on Vía 40, one of the most representative of the carnival, where they paid tribute to the bearers of tradition who have kept these expressions alive for generations.
One of the highlights was the tribute to the paloteo dances, one of the oldest warrior expressions of the carnival, a symbol of unity and cultural memory, in which dancers mark the rhythm by hitting short sticks together while representing different nations. "The Great Tradition Parade is an act of respect and gratitude with those who have sustained the carnival from its roots".
