Traditions of Latin America and the Caribbean
Carnaval, Inti Raymi, quinceañera, mate, asado and the Day of the Dead. 117 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
Countries
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda 0🇦🇷 Argentina 34🇧🇸 Bahamas 3🇧🇧 Barbados 7🇧🇿 Belize 5🇧🇴 Bolivia 21🇧🇷 Brazil 36🇨🇱 Chile 28🇨🇴 Colombia 19🇨🇷 Costa Rica 4🇨🇺 Cuba 13🇩🇲 Dominica 3🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 4🇪🇨 Ecuador 10🇸🇻 El Salvador 5🇬🇩 Grenada 1🇬🇹 Guatemala 15🇬🇾 Guyana 6🇭🇹 Haiti 5🇭🇳 Honduras 4🇯🇲 Jamaica 10🇳🇮 Nicaragua 5🇵🇦 Panama 5🇵🇾 Paraguay 7🇵🇪 Peru 29🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 8🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis 4🇱🇨 Saint Lucia 2🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1🇸🇷 Suriname 7🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago 14🇺🇾 Uruguay 8🇻🇪 Venezuela 12
On the calendar
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayNostalgia NightNoche de la Nostalgia
Uruguay's nationwide retro music and dance celebration held every 24 AugustFestival
🇧🇷 BrazilBaião
A syncopated folk rhythm and partnered dance from northeastern BrazilPerformance
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilRio CarnivalCarnaval do Rio de Janeiro
Five days of samba parades, costumes and street parties in Rio, ending at LentFestival
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreMoko Jumbie
A stilt-walking tradition from the Caribbean that blends African heritage with local carnival celebrations.Performance
🇦🇷 Santiago del Estero, Argentina and 1 moreChacarera
A partner dance and folk music genre from Argentina's north-west, known for its distinctive rhythm and courtship steps.Performance
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreMorenada
A Bolivian folk dance featuring heavy masks and rattling instruments, performed in festivals across the Andes.Performance
🇧🇷 Recife, Brazil and 1 moreMaracatu
A set of Afro-Brazilian performance traditions from Pernambuco and Ceará featuring drumming, dance, and royal pageantry.Performance
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreJounen Kwéyòl
A day of Creole food, music and dress in Saint Lucia and Dominica, kept each OctoberFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇷 São Paulo, BrazilMaculelê
An Afro-Brazilian stick dance from Bahia that blends rhythm, mock combat, and song.Performance
🇧🇷 BrazilForró
Music, dance and party from Brazil's Northeast, with accordion, triangle and zabumba drumPerformance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto RicoVejigante
A masked folkloric character in Puerto Rican festivals, wearing ornate masks and performing a role of mischief or resistFestival
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJongo
A nightlong dance and music gathering kept by Afro-Brazilian communities in the southeast of Brazil.Performance
🇧🇧 BarbadosTuk band
A Barbadian musical ensemble with costumed figures that blends African drumming and British military traditions.Performance
🇧🇴 Potosí, BoliviaTinku
A ritual combat and dance from northern Potosí, Bolivia, honoring Pachamama through ceremonial fighting and performance.Festival
🇭🇳 Honduras and 4 morePunta
A lively dance and music style of the Garifuna people, celebrated in Central America and the Caribbean.Performance
🇵🇾 ParaguayParaguayan harp
Paraguay's national harp, strung with 32 to 46 strings and plucked with long fingernailsPerformance
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara
A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance
🇧🇸 Nassau, BahamasRake-and-scrape
A traditional Bahamian music style featuring saws, guitars and drums.Performance
🇧🇷 Belém, BrazilCarimbó
A dance and music genre from the Amazon region of Brazil, centered around a wooden drum.Performance
🇨🇺 CubaAbakuá
An Afro-Cuban initiatory brotherhood rooted in West African sacred traditionsSpiritual
🇩🇲 Dominica and 4 moreBéléBèlè
A Caribbean drum, call-and-response song, and courtship dance traditionPerformance
🇨🇱 Santiago, Chile and 3 moreCueca
A courtship dance of Chile and the Andes where partners trace circles with handkerchiefs to mimic a rooster and hen.Performance
🇵🇷 San Juan, Puerto Rico and 1 moreBomba
A Puerto Rican music and dance tradition where the drummer follows the dancer in a rhythmic dialogue.Performance
🇦🇷 Córdoba, ArgentinaCuarteto
An upbeat partner dance and music tradition born in Córdoba, ArgentinaPerformance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto Rico and 1 morePlena
Puerto Rican folk songs and dance sharing community news with rhythmic frame drumsPerformance
🇦🇷 Salta, Argentina and 3 moreZamba
A graceful Argentine couple dance of circling steps and fluttering white handkerchiefsPerformance
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilCapoeira
An Afro-Brazilian martial art and musical game played inside a circleGame
🇧🇿 Dangriga, Belize and 4 morePunta rock
A fast-paced Garifuna dance music mixing traditional percussion with electric guitarsPerformance
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇨🇴 Barranquilla, ColombiaBarranquilla CarnivalCarnaval de Barranquilla
A four-day street festival of music, masquerade and dance in coastal ColombiaFestival
🇧🇴 Oruro, BoliviaCarnival of OruroEl carnaval de Oruro
A Bolivian festival of masked pilgrimage dances honoring the Virgin of the MineshaftFestival
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos
A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival
🇯🇲 Kingston, Jamaica and 5 moreReggae
A Jamaican music of the late 1960s: a slow beat, a deep bass line and Rastafari rootsPerformance
🇩🇴 Santiago, Dominican Republic and 3 moreMerengue
A fast-paced folk dance and music tradition born in the Dominican RepublicPerformance
🇬🇾 Georgetown, GuyanaMashramani
Guyana's national republic celebration filled with street pageantry, music and dance.Festival
🇹🇹 Port of Spain, Trinidad and TobagoCanboulay
An early Trinidadian celebration that shaped modern Carnival and calypso musicFestival
🇨🇺 Remedios, CubaParrandas
Central Cuban street festivals featuring district rumba music, floats and fireworksFestival
🇺🇾 Montevideo, Uruguay and 3 moreMurga
A lively Carnival musical theatre of chorus, percussion and social satirePerformance
🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaCarnival of Santiago de CubaCarnaval
A summer street celebration of percussion troupes, dancing, and parades in eastern CubaFestival
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreDiabladaDanza de los Diablos
An Andean masked dance depicting a battle between devils and the Archangel MichaelPerformance
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay
An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇯🇲 Montego Bay, JamaicaReggae Sumfest
An annual week-long reggae and dancehall music festival in Montego Bay, JamaicaFestival
🇨🇴 Cali, ColombiaCali FairLa Feria de Cali
A six-day Colombian celebration of salsa music, street parades, and regional cultureFestival
🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval
Haiti's annual street festival of music, satirical plays and costumed paradesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago Carnival
An annual festival of street parades, masquerade bands, steelpan music and danceFestival
🇧🇷 Recife, BrazilFrevo
A fast, brass-driven dance and music of Recife's Carnival, danced with a small umbrellaPerformance
🇵🇪 Trujillo, PeruMarinera
A courtship dance from Peru's coast, with handkerchiefs and bare feetPerformance
🇺🇾 Uruguay and 3 moreTango
A social partner dance of the Río de la Plata, improvised step by stepPerformance
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilRio CarnivalCarnaval do Rio de Janeiro
Five days of samba parades, costumes and street parties in Rio, ending at LentFestival
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreMoko Jumbie
A stilt-walking tradition from the Caribbean that blends African heritage with local carnival celebrations.Performance
🇦🇷 Santiago del Estero, Argentina and 1 moreChacarera
A partner dance and folk music genre from Argentina's north-west, known for its distinctive rhythm and courtship steps.Performance
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreMorenada
A Bolivian folk dance featuring heavy masks and rattling instruments, performed in festivals across the Andes.Performance
🇧🇷 Recife, Brazil and 1 moreMaracatu
A set of Afro-Brazilian performance traditions from Pernambuco and Ceará featuring drumming, dance, and royal pageantry.Performance
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreJounen Kwéyòl
A day of Creole food, music and dress in Saint Lucia and Dominica, kept each OctoberFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇷 São Paulo, BrazilMaculelê
An Afro-Brazilian stick dance from Bahia that blends rhythm, mock combat, and song.Performance
🇧🇷 BrazilForró
Music, dance and party from Brazil's Northeast, with accordion, triangle and zabumba drumPerformance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto RicoVejigante
A masked folkloric character in Puerto Rican festivals, wearing ornate masks and performing a role of mischief or resistFestival
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJongo
A nightlong dance and music gathering kept by Afro-Brazilian communities in the southeast of Brazil.Performance
🇧🇧 BarbadosTuk band
A Barbadian musical ensemble with costumed figures that blends African drumming and British military traditions.Performance
🇧🇴 Potosí, BoliviaTinku
A ritual combat and dance from northern Potosí, Bolivia, honoring Pachamama through ceremonial fighting and performance.Festival
🇭🇳 Honduras and 4 morePunta
A lively dance and music style of the Garifuna people, celebrated in Central America and the Caribbean.Performance
🇵🇾 ParaguayParaguayan harp
Paraguay's national harp, strung with 32 to 46 strings and plucked with long fingernailsPerformance
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara
A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance
🇧🇸 Nassau, BahamasRake-and-scrape
A traditional Bahamian music style featuring saws, guitars and drums.Performance
🇧🇷 Belém, BrazilCarimbó
A dance and music genre from the Amazon region of Brazil, centered around a wooden drum.Performance
🇨🇺 CubaAbakuá
An Afro-Cuban initiatory brotherhood rooted in West African sacred traditionsSpiritual
🇩🇲 Dominica and 4 moreBéléBèlè
A Caribbean drum, call-and-response song, and courtship dance traditionPerformance
🇨🇱 Santiago, Chile and 3 moreCueca
A courtship dance of Chile and the Andes where partners trace circles with handkerchiefs to mimic a rooster and hen.Performance
🇵🇷 San Juan, Puerto Rico and 1 moreBomba
A Puerto Rican music and dance tradition where the drummer follows the dancer in a rhythmic dialogue.Performance
🇦🇷 Córdoba, ArgentinaCuarteto
An upbeat partner dance and music tradition born in Córdoba, ArgentinaPerformance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto Rico and 1 morePlena
Puerto Rican folk songs and dance sharing community news with rhythmic frame drumsPerformance
🇦🇷 Salta, Argentina and 3 moreZamba
A graceful Argentine couple dance of circling steps and fluttering white handkerchiefsPerformance
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilCapoeira
An Afro-Brazilian martial art and musical game played inside a circleGame
🇧🇿 Dangriga, Belize and 4 morePunta rock
A fast-paced Garifuna dance music mixing traditional percussion with electric guitarsPerformance
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇨🇴 Barranquilla, ColombiaBarranquilla CarnivalCarnaval de Barranquilla
A four-day street festival of music, masquerade and dance in coastal ColombiaFestival
🇧🇴 Oruro, BoliviaCarnival of OruroEl carnaval de Oruro
A Bolivian festival of masked pilgrimage dances honoring the Virgin of the MineshaftFestival
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos
A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival
🇯🇲 Kingston, Jamaica and 5 moreReggae
A Jamaican music of the late 1960s: a slow beat, a deep bass line and Rastafari rootsPerformance
🇩🇴 Santiago, Dominican Republic and 3 moreMerengue
A fast-paced folk dance and music tradition born in the Dominican RepublicPerformance
🇬🇾 Georgetown, GuyanaMashramani
Guyana's national republic celebration filled with street pageantry, music and dance.Festival
🇹🇹 Port of Spain, Trinidad and TobagoCanboulay
An early Trinidadian celebration that shaped modern Carnival and calypso musicFestival
🇨🇺 Remedios, CubaParrandas
Central Cuban street festivals featuring district rumba music, floats and fireworksFestival
🇺🇾 Montevideo, Uruguay and 3 moreMurga
A lively Carnival musical theatre of chorus, percussion and social satirePerformance
🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaCarnival of Santiago de CubaCarnaval
A summer street celebration of percussion troupes, dancing, and parades in eastern CubaFestival
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreDiabladaDanza de los Diablos
An Andean masked dance depicting a battle between devils and the Archangel MichaelPerformance
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay
An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇯🇲 Montego Bay, JamaicaReggae Sumfest
An annual week-long reggae and dancehall music festival in Montego Bay, JamaicaFestival
🇨🇴 Cali, ColombiaCali FairLa Feria de Cali
A six-day Colombian celebration of salsa music, street parades, and regional cultureFestival
🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval
Haiti's annual street festival of music, satirical plays and costumed paradesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago Carnival
An annual festival of street parades, masquerade bands, steelpan music and danceFestival
🇧🇷 Recife, BrazilFrevo
A fast, brass-driven dance and music of Recife's Carnival, danced with a small umbrellaPerformance
🇵🇪 Trujillo, PeruMarinera
A courtship dance from Peru's coast, with handkerchiefs and bare feetPerformance
🇺🇾 Uruguay and 3 moreTango
A social partner dance of the Río de la Plata, improvised step by stepPerformance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Barranquilla Carnival: el heraldo, Public domain, source
- Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Jean-Marc /Jo BeLo/Jhon-John, CC BY 2.0, source
- Carnival of Oruro: Pame82s, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Haitian Carnival: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cali Fair: Jyon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Reggae Sumfest: Psycler who is also known as AlfredMoya.com for Jamaica MAX, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hosay: Julius Eduard Muller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Forró: As fotos da Virada!, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Diablada: Elemaki, CC BY 3.0, source
- Carnival of Santiago de Cuba: Christian Pirkl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Murga: Mediared, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Parrandas: Juan ramon colina, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Paraguayan harp: Romina Santarelli, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rara: Lombinodr Alfonso Lomba, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mashramani: King sheik at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Merengue: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cueca: Manuel Antonio Caro, Public domain, source
- Bomba: TechyLibrarian, CC BY 4.0, source
- Plena: Raylaur15, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Capoeira: Augustus Earle, Public domain, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, source
- Reggae: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Carimbó: Palácio do Planalto, CC BY 2.0, source
- Punta: Pitxiquin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tinku: CassandraW1, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tuk band: Ronaldwalcott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jongo: Vanessa Freitas, Public domain, source
- Vejigante: Oscar Rohena, CC BY 2.0, source
- Maculelê: Joel Zimmer, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Maracatu: Prefeitura de Olinda, CC BY 2.0, source
- Morenada: Alfredobi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Chacarera: Pflatau, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Moko Jumbie: COD Newsroom, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rio Carnival: Sergio Luiz, CC BY 2.0, source
- Frevo: Prefeitura de Olinda, CC BY 2.0, source
- Marinera: Tomas Sobek, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tango: carlos luque, CC BY 2.5, source
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source