Celebration in Pasto

Pasto is famous for the Inca cultural legacy. Since the city have Andean climate, you can feel the history on the streets. And the biggest sample of this legacy is the tremendous black and white carnival. If you decide to attend this carnival, you must travel early in January.  This celebration is incredible, because artisans make gigantic floats symbolizing various aspects of Inca culture; mythological characters, mother earth, and others. This has three important carnival parades. The first of these is the parade of the Castañeda family, representing the multicultural integration in the country. 

The second important parade is the black’s day. This commemorates the day of the slaves day. Before, during and after the parade, the people are dancing and celebrating on the street and public places. People play to paint black their faces on this day. And the people say euphorically “Que vivan los negros, carajo!” .

Finally, the most important parade is the white’s day, also called “magno” parade. On this day the artisans show their creations on the carnival path. It Is the largest and most famous parade. In contrast of the black’s day, the people play to paint white their faces.