At the beginning of August in the municipality of Vélez the Guabina and Tiple Festival takes place, a tradition that has its roots in colonial times, in the pilgrimages that were organized on August 4 and 5 in honor of the Virgin. de las Nieves, patron saint of the Veleños. 

In 1962 the festival was organized for the first time formally by a committee, and has been held annually since then, preserving the dates on which the pilgrimages took place.
 
Despite its religious origin, throughout the 20th century the festival was configured as a festival with a musical vocation, in which the people of Vélez pay tribute to the traditions of their land. 

In this way, the main protagonists of the festival are, as its name indicates, the tiple, a typical instrument of the Colombian Andean region and especially of Santander and Boyacá, and the "guabina veleña", a vocal song accompanied by "tiple". 

In the same way, the torbellino, music and dance are celebrated with influences from the guabina and the "pasillo". 

As part of the festival, parades of typical costumes are also held and local liquors are enjoyed such as the popular guarapo, traditionally served in totumas.
 
Thanks to the initiative of Lola Olarte de Fajardo in the 1960s, the festival also has the impressive flower parade, a colorful event in which women and men dressed in the typical local costume exhibit the botanical wealth of the region with beautiful floral arrangements and floats.

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