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 33🇧🇸 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 4🇬🇩 Grenada 1🇬🇹 Guatemala 15🇬🇾 Guyana 6🇭🇹 Haiti 5🇭🇳 Honduras 4🇯🇲 Jamaica 10🇳🇮 Nicaragua 5🇵🇦 Panama 4🇵🇾 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 12🇺🇾 Uruguay 8🇻🇪 Venezuela 12
On the calendar
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara
A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance
🇭🇳 Honduras and 4 morePunta
A lively dance and music style of the Garifuna people, celebrated in Central America and the Caribbean.Performance
🇧🇴 Potosí, BoliviaTinku
A ritual combat and dance from northern Potosí, Bolivia, honoring Pachamama through ceremonial fighting and performance.Festival
🇧🇧 BarbadosTuk band
A Barbadian musical ensemble with costumed figures that blends African drumming and British military traditions.Performance
🇹🇹 Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDivali Nagar
An annual cultural exposition in Trinidad and Tobago celebrating Hindu traditions during the Diwali season.Festival
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJongo
A nightlong dance and music gathering kept by Afro-Brazilian communities in the southeast of Brazil.Performance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto RicoVejigante
A masked folkloric character in Puerto Rican festivals, wearing ornate masks and performing a role of mischief or resistFestival
🇱🇨 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
🇧🇷 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
🇧🇷 BrazilForró
Music, dance and party from Brazil's Northeast, with accordion, triangle and zabumba drumPerformance
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreMorenada
A Bolivian folk dance featuring heavy masks and rattling instruments, performed in festivals across the Andes.Performance
🇨🇱 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
🇦🇷 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
🇧🇿 Dangriga, Belize and 4 morePunta rock
A fast-paced Garifuna dance music mixing traditional percussion with electric guitarsPerformance
🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun
A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇧🇷 Recife, Brazil and 1 moreMaracatu
A set of Afro-Brazilian performance traditions from Pernambuco and Ceará featuring drumming, dance, and royal pageantry.Performance
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayNostalgia NightNoche de la Nostalgia
Uruguay's nationwide retro music and dance celebration held every 24 AugustFestival
🇩🇲 Dominica and 4 moreBéléBèlè
A Caribbean drum, call-and-response song, and courtship dance traditionPerformance
🇨🇱 Rancagua, Chile and 1 moreChilean rodeo
A Chilean equestrian sport and weekend festival contested in a crescent-shaped arenaGame
🇧🇷 Belém, BrazilCarimbó
A dance and music genre from the Amazon region of Brazil, centered around a wooden drum.Performance
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 2 moreInti Raymi
A major Andean festival honoring the sun god Inti and marking the winter solstice in Cusco.Festival
🇨🇴 Barranquilla, ColombiaBarranquilla CarnivalCarnaval de Barranquilla
A four-day street festival of music, masquerade and dance in coastal ColombiaFestival
🇸🇷 Paramaribo, Suriname and 1 moreKetikotiKeti Koti
An annual Emancipation Day marking the end of slavery in Suriname and the NetherlandsFestival
🇧🇴 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
🇵🇪 Lima, PeruLord of MiraclesSeñor de los Milagros
An October Catholic festival in Lima honouring a miraculous mural of ChristSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇵🇪 Cusco, PeruQoyllur Rit'iQuyllurit'i
An Andean mountain pilgrimage uniting indigenous star lore and Catholic devotionSpiritual
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay
An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreAlasitasFeria de la Alasita
A month-long Bolivian fair where people exchange miniatures to invite good fortuneFestival
🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval
Haiti's annual street festival of music, satirical plays and costumed paradesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇨🇴 Cali, ColombiaCali FairLa Feria de Cali
A six-day Colombian celebration of salsa music, street parades, and regional cultureFestival
🇯🇲 Montego Bay, JamaicaReggae Sumfest
An annual week-long reggae and dancehall music festival in Montego Bay, JamaicaFestival
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayCarnival in Uruguay
An extended festival of drum processions, stage satire, and dance across Uruguay.Festival
🇧🇧 BarbadosCrop Over
A Barbadian harvest festival marking the end of the sugar cane season with music and parades.Festival
🇧🇸 Bahamas and 3 moreJunkanoo
A Caribbean masquerade festival of masked dancing, goatskin drumming, and cowbellsFestival
🇪🇨 Latacunga, EcuadorMama Negra
A twice-yearly festival in Latacunga blending Andean, Spanish and African heritageFestival
🇧🇷 BrazilFesta JuninaFestas Juninas
A Brazilian midwinter celebration marked by bonfires, folk dances and countryside gamesFestival
🇧🇷 Salvador, BrazilLavagem do Bonfim
An annual inter-religious procession and cleansing ritual in Salvador, BrazilSpiritual
🇨🇴 Medellín, ColombiaFestival of the FlowersFeria de las Flores
An annual week-long celebration of floral craft and regional culture in MedellínFestival
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreDiabladaDanza de los Diablos
An Andean masked dance depicting a battle between devils and the Archangel MichaelPerformance
🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaCarnival of Santiago de CubaCarnaval
A summer street celebration of percussion troupes, dancing, and parades in eastern CubaFestival
🇦🇷 ArgentinaDía de la Tradición
An annual Argentine day celebrating gaucho customs on poet José Hernández's birthdayCeremony
🇺🇾 Montevideo, Uruguay and 3 moreMurga
A lively Carnival musical theatre of chorus, percussion and social satirePerformance
🇦🇷 Mendoza, ArgentinaFiesta Nacional de la Vendimia
Argentina's national grape harvest festival, celebrated each year in MendozaSeasonal
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Inti Raymi: Cyntia Motta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Barranquilla Carnival: el heraldo, Public domain, source
- Ketikoti: StarNieuws, CC BY 3.0, source
- Carnival of Oruro: Pame82s, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lord of Miracles: Miguel Chong, Public domain, source
- Qoyllur Rit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Alasitas: Ener6, 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
- Carnival in Uruguay: Graham Stanley, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Junkanoo: WikiPedant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mama Negra: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Festa Junina: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hosay: Julius Eduard Muller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lavagem do Bonfim: Adenilson Nunes/ AGECOM, CC BY 2.0, source
- Festival of the Flowers: SajoR, CC BY-SA 2.5, 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
- Día de la Tradición: GCBA, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Murga: Mediared, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia: Javinaselli, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rara: Lombinodr Alfonso Lomba, CC BY 3.0, source
- Cueca: Manuel Antonio Caro, Public domain, source
- Plena: Raylaur15, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngillatun: Francisco Cavallo, Public domain, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chilean rodeo: Marco Antonio Correa Flores, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
- Maracatu: Prefeitura de Olinda, CC BY 2.0, source
- Morenada: Alfredobi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Moko Jumbie: COD Newsroom, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rio Carnival: Sergio Luiz, CC BY 2.0, source