Carnaval de Negros y Blancos

About Carnaval de Negros y Blancos

Originating in 16th-century colonial Nariño as separate African and European celebrations on January 5 and 6, the two days fused over centuries into a single civic carnival. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage designation recognizes both the social mixing tradition and the carroza artisanship.

Overview The Carnaval de Negros y Blancos in Pasto, Nariño, is Colombia's oldest carnival and a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage event held annually from January 2 to 6. The festival's two central days — January 5 (Día de Negros) and January 6 (Día de Blancos) — involve the entire city painting each other's faces black with shoe polish and white with talcum powder, and participating in a procession of floats (carrozas) that represent months of collective artisanal work. The carnival is rooted in the cultural mixing of indigenous Andean, African, and Spanish colonial traditions specific to the Nariño region.

The Story Behind It The carnival's origin is traced to the sixteenth century, when enslaved Africans and indigenous communities in the Nariño region celebrated in ways that Spanish colonial authorities initially tolerated on specific feast days. The Día de Negros began as an African celebration permitted on January 5; the Día de Blancos was the following day, when higher-class Europeans and mestizos threw flour and other white substances in a parallel celebration. The two days fused into a single civic tradition over the following centuries, losing some of the original racial hierarchy and gaining the character of collective mutual participation. The carrozas — massive parade floats created by teams of artisans over months — began as simple allegorical vehicles and grew over the twentieth century into engineering feats of papier-mâché, balsa wood, and mechanical movement that rival the floats of Brazil's carnival in technical ambition.

What You'll Experience The main parade days (January 5–6) transform Pasto's streets into a city-wide participation event where the social norm is mutual face-painting. The carroza parade through the city center takes several hours to pass; the floats are judged and the winning teams celebrated. Musical groups accompany the processions with chirimía, brass bands, and traditional Andean instruments. The city fills to capacity during carnival week — accommodation must be booked months in advance.

Getting There Pasto is accessible by air from Bogotá (1 hour) and Cali (1 hour). The city is near the Ecuador border in southern Colombia. Carnival week accommodation must be booked 3–6 months ahead.

The Experience

A city-wide mutual face-painting celebration over two days, anchored by a carroza parade of technically ambitious floats built over months by artisan teams — with chirimía, brass bands, and Andean instruments throughout.

Why It Matters

The Carnaval de Negros y Blancos is both Colombia's oldest surviving carnival tradition and a documented example of how colonial-era racial categories were renegotiated through collective celebration into a shared civic identity.

Why Visit

A carnival where participation is the norm rather than the exception — the face-painting is mutual and city-wide, not a performance watched by visitors. The carroza tradition produces floats that rival any in Latin America in technical and artistic quality.