Date last weeks of June | Type Catholic, Cultural | |
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Celebrations Parades, parties, music festival, pageant | ||
The Bambuco Pageant and Folkloric Festival is the largest and most important celebration in Huila Department and one of the most important celebrations in southern Colombia. It is celebrated annually in the city of Neiva during the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and attracts a considerable number of Colombian and foreign tourists. The festival was declared National Cultural heritage by the Congress of Colombia in 2006.
Contents
The Festivity is formed by three events, the Folkloric Festival, the Bambuco Pageant and the International Folklore Exposition. The Festival celebrates Bambuco music.
History
Since the 18th century, locals celebrated obedience to the Spanish monarch in the months of June and July, as well as the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint John. At the time, Saint John's Feast was a rural festivity while Saint Peter's was celebrated in the cities.
In 1960, the festivities were officialized and the Festival Folclórico y Reinado Nacional del Bambuco were established.
Reinado Nacional del Bambuco
The Reinado Nacional del Bambuco is a contest similar to beauty pageants in which contestants, each representing a Colombian Department, are judged on six parameters: Performance of Sanjuanero dance, beauty, general knowledge, popularity, punctuality and performance of regional dance. Of these, the performance of the Sanjuanero dance grants the most points, followed by beauty. The contests' winner is declared as the National Bambuco Queen (Spanish: Reina Nacional del Bambuco).