Celebration

This is a celebration held in the Department of Huila, Colombia. It is one of the oldest and most important celebrations, having been celebrated for several years. This celebration takes place annually in Neiva - Huila, during the last two weeks of June.

The National Bambuco Pageant is a competition in which each department of Colombia sends a female representative. The female representative must know the SanJuanero dance. These aspects are evaluated by a jury, including beauty, punctuality, general knowledge and the culture of the department of Huila.

In my experience, it was one of the festivities I enjoyed most as a child. I attended these parades for almost 12 years. I went with my father, family, and friends. When I was a child, I remember my aunts making me a traditional Bambuco costume, and I wore it to every parade.

I remember that at each parade, especially the last and most important one, we would sit down and wait for more than half an hour for it to begin. During that time, my father would buy me popcorn, cakes, soda, or cotton candy. Then, the sirens of the police and fire trucks would sound, signaling that the parade had begun. During the parade, each contestant could be seen wearing their traditional costume representing their department. They rode in a decorated car. Behind each car with each contestant, there were always dancers, musicians, and people dressed in costumes representing Colombian culture. The entire parade could last almost four hours.

At the end of the parade, there were always horses, where you could see different breeds. Finally, at the end of the day, you could watch on television how the representatives or contestants danced the Bambuco, and whoever scored the best dance would be chosen as that year's Queen.