The Bambuco Pageant and Folkloric Festival is the largest and most important celebration in

Huila Department Huila () is one of the departments of Colombia. It is located in the southwest of the country, and its capital is Neiva. Demography and Ethnography Huila is a department that has a population of 1,122,622 inhabitants, of which 679,667 (60.54% ...

and one of the most important celebrations in southern

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. It is celebrated annually in the city of

Neiva Neiva () is the capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a population of about 357,392 inhabitants. It is one of the most important cities in southern Colombia, mainly ...

during the

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor, of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christi ...

and attracts a considerable number of Colombian and foreign tourists. The festival was declared National Cultural heritage by the

Congress of Colombia The Congress of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Congreso de la República de Colombia) is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature. The Congress of Colombia consists of the 108-seat Senate, and the 188-seat Chamber of Re ...

in 2006. The Festivity is formed by three events, the Folkloric Festival, the Bambuco Pageant and the International Folklore Exposition. The Festival celebrates

Bambuco Bambuco is a traditional music genre from Colombia. Its metric structure is similar to the European waltz or polska (not to be confused with the polka). Typically a bambuco piece is accompanied by a stylized group dance in either a or meter. ...

music.

History

Since the 18th century, locals celebrated obedience to the Spanish monarch in the months of June and July,Festival Folclórico y Reinado Nacional del Bambuco: el regreso a las raíces andinas
Colombian Tourism Portal. 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 A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

in which contestants, each representing a Colombian

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, are judged on six parameters: Performance of Sanjuanero dance, beauty,

general knowledge General knowledge is information that has been accumulated over time through various mediums and sources. It excludes specialized learning that can only be obtained with extensive training and information confined to a single medium. General kn ...

, popularity, punctuality and performance of regional dance.REGLAMENTO GENERAL REINADO NACIONAL DEL BAMBUCO
The Reinado's Official Rule Book. 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''). It has been made in 57 uninterrupted editions from 1961 to 2017, the first winning department was Huila while the most recent and current winner of the title is Huila as well. In the 57 editions a total of 21 territorial entities (20 departments and

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

) have obtained at least one crown, the department that has won the most is the host department, Huila, with a total of 7 crowns, followed by Atlántico with 6,

Meta Meta (from the Greek μετά, '' meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending". In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or ende ...

and Caquetá both with 5 and Valle del Cauca with 4, the information of all the winning departments with their respective years is shown below:

By Department

Festival activities

*"Anselmo Durán Plazas" National Music Performing Contest. *" Jorge Villamil Cordovez" National Music Composition Contest. *" Inés García de Durán" National and International Dance Encounter.

References

External links

*
Ferias & Fiestas que no te puedes Perder, Colombia.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Festival Folclorico y Reinado Nacional del Bambuco Cultural festivals in Colombia Tourist attractions in Huila Department Dance in Colombia Bambuco Recurring events established in 1960 Folk festivals in Colombia Music festivals established in 1960 Music festivals in Colombia Dance festivals in Colombia