Image
In January of every odd-numbered year, the Riosucio Carnival or Devil's Carnival is celebrated in Riosucio, Caldas, one of the most emblematic festivals in the entire country, which attracts thousands of visitors, both national and foreign, and is Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation.
The carnival consists of three main stages. It began to take shape in July of the previous year with the Preparation stage, made up of the installation of the Carnival Republic and The Decrees, two satirical events that took place in July and August respectively.
The Convite, in December, constitutes the Sanction stage, in which it is announced that the town is ready for the carnival.
The Consummation Stage comes with the celebration of the carnival characterized by the figure of the devil, whose entry in procession to the town is one of the main events of the festival.
The main event of the Riosucio Carnival is the Parade of Cuadrillas, traditional Riosucio troupes that evaluate the world and life with costumes and music. The groups have different themes, being political, social, religious, ecological, traditional, satirical or serious and are completely original, never repeating themselves from carnival to carnival.
The festival has its epilogue with the Burning of the Devil, a symbolic act in which a small statuette filled with gunpowder is burned, marking the end of the reign of the carnival devil and awaiting his return within two years.
The Riosucio Carnival is a manifestation of identity and cultural resistance, where ancestral traditions are preserved and the sense of community is strengthened among the inhabitants of this town in Caldas, and a sample of the richness of the triethnic mix in the region.
