In the week before Ash Wednesday in El Guamo, a municipality in the Montes de María region in the department of Bolívar, its traditional carnivals (Carnavales de El Guamo) take place.
As is customary in most carnivals on the Caribbean coast, the festivities begin with the guacherna parade, after which the reading of the bando takes place, which is in charge of the queen of the previous year's carnival.
El Carnaval de Simití, celebrado en el municipio del mismo nombre en Bolívar, Colombia, es una de las festividades más vibrantes y esperadas de la región. Este evento anual, que tiene lugar en febrero, es una explosión de color, música y alegría que reúne a residentes y visitantes para disfrutar de la rica herencia cultural de Simití.
El carnaval comienza con el tradicional desfile de guacherna que recorre las calles del municipio, donde los simiteños lucen trajes típicos al ritmo de la música folclórica de la región.
In mid-December in Simití, the traditional patron saint festivities are celebrated in honor of the Virgin of the Original (Fiesta Patronal en honor a La Virgen de La Original), a Marian devotion typical of the municipality whose origins date back to the 18th century.
According to legend, in gratitude for their hospitality, two angels gave an oil painting of the Blessed Virgin to an elderly couple in the town, a work that today rests on the altar of the Chapel of the Virgin of the Original and is an object of devotion on the part of the Simiteños.
In mid-August, around the festival of Santa Rosa de Lima, the municipality of Santa Rosa del Sur in Bolivar's Magdalena Medio celebrates its traditional fairs and festivals.
The festival program includes a series of cultural events such as troupe parades, traditional dance performances and musical performances.
The fair stands out for its colorful parades, where the community actively participates with costumes and floats that represent the cultural wealth of the region.
In September the municipality of San Pablo, on the banks of the Magdalena River, is filled with music and color with the Festival of Dances and Sung Drums (Festival de Danzas y Tamboras), an event that celebrates the musical tradition of the region.
Between February and March, the traditional carnival takes place annually in San Pablo, south of Bolívar, a festivity that shares the characteristics of the carnivals of several towns on the Colombian Atlantic coast.
The festivities begin with the night of "guacherna", a parade with typical costumes and folk music that takes place the day before the official start of the carnival, which formally opens with the reading of the bando by the queen chosen the previous year.
At the end of June, the town of San Pablo, in Magdalena Medio, Bolivar, celebrates its traditional patron saint festivities (Fiestas Patronales en honor a San Pedro y San Pablo), in honor of the Apostle who gives its name to the municipality, whose festival is celebrated on the 29th of the month.
On January 20, the municipality of Morales on the banks of the Simití arm, a branch of the Magdalena River, celebrates its patron saint festivities in honor of San Sebastián de las Palmas (Fiestas Patronales en honor a San Sebastián), patron saint of the town since the beginning of the 17th century, when the Spanish soldier Pedro Vicente de Morales gave to the newly founded town the name of this martyr from the 3rd century.
At the end of August, the small town of Cantagallo in the south of Bolívar celebrates its patron saint festivities in honor of Santa Rosa de Lima (Fiestas Patronales en honor a Santa Rosa de Lima), whose festival is commemorated on the 30th of the month in this municipality.
For five days, cantagalleros and visitors can enjoy a varied program that includes live music, musical and dance performances by local folk groups, horseback riding, and traditional corralejas of the region.
In February in the municipality of Cantagallo, on the banks of the Magdalena River in the south of Bolívar, its traditional carnival is celebrated, one of the most anticipated festivities for "Cantagalleros".
For three days the town is filled with color and music with parades of floats and troupes that celebrate the history and culture of the municipality and the region. Lantern contests, a drum festival and a piqueria contest are also held, a tradition typical of festivals in the Caribbean region.