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At the beginning of January in Cumbitara, a municipality of Nariño located about 165 kilometers from the departmental capital Pasto, the traditional Black and White Carnival is celebrated (Carnaval de Cumbitara), an emblematic festival of several towns in the department and Cauca and Putumayo.
Black Day and White Day are the two main days of the carnival. In Cumbitara, Black Day is celebrated in the traditional way, with a parade with music in which the inhabitants of the municipality paint their faces and bodies with black paint.
The neighborhoods and villages of the municipality organize their own troupes that represent them in the parade. Also presented are sainetes, short theatrical works that are generally satirical and traditional, traditional to various popular festivals in Colombia.
White Day is marked by the great parade of floats in which the creativity of the Cumbitareños comes to light with elaborate frames that pay tribute to their culture, their indigenous past, their history and the diversity of the region.
Concerts, popular festivals and the traditional beauty queen are also held within the framework of the carnival. The Black and White Carnival of Cumbitara (Carnaval de Cumbitara) is a festival of cultural identity and community unity, which highlights the traditions of southwestern Colombia and promotes the joy and integration of its inhabitants.
