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
🇧🇷 São Paulo, BrazilMaculelê
An Afro-Brazilian stick dance from Bahia that blends rhythm, mock combat, and song.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
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreMoko Jumbie
A stilt-walking tradition from the Caribbean that blends African heritage with local carnival celebrations.Performance
🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreAyniAyni (Quechua and Aymara)
Giving and receiving as a duty, kept by Andean communitiesEtiquette
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 4 moreIntiinti (Quechua)
The Inca sun deity, honoured with temples, offerings and the June festival Inti RaymiSpiritual
🇨🇱 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
🇨🇺 CubaAbakuá
An Afro-Cuban initiatory brotherhood rooted in West African sacred traditionsSpiritual
🇵🇦 Panama City, PanamaMola
Layered cloth panels hand-sewn by Guna women using reverse appliquéCraft
🇭🇳 Honduras and 4 morePunta
A lively dance and music style of the Garifuna people, celebrated in Central America and the Caribbean.Performance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto RicoVejigante
A masked folkloric character in Puerto Rican festivals, wearing ornate masks and performing a role of mischief or resistFestival
🇬🇹 GuatemalaWorry dollMuñecas quitapenas
Hand-made dolls from highland Guatemala that children tell their worries to at nightFolklore
🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreAlasitasFeria de la Alasita
A month-long Bolivian fair where people exchange miniatures to invite good fortuneFestival
🇦🇷 ArgentinaDía de la Tradición
An annual Argentine day celebrating gaucho customs on poet José Hernández's birthdayCeremony
🇬🇹 Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and 3 moreMaximón
A folk saint of the Guatemalan highlands, asked for health, crops and protectionFolklore
🇵🇪 Santo Tomás, PeruTakanakuy
A December tradition in Peru where community members settle disputes through regulated fistfights and dance.Festival
🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 moreLetra del Año
Annual prophecies and guidance proclaimed by babalawo priests for the coming yearSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Letra del Año: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Inti: Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, Public domain, source
- Alasitas: Ener6, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ayni: Sr raleigh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Día de la Tradición: GCBA, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Cueca: Manuel Antonio Caro, Public domain, source
- Bomba: TechyLibrarian, CC BY 4.0, source
- Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, source
- Mola: Johantheghost, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Punta: Pitxiquin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vejigante: Oscar Rohena, CC BY 2.0, source
- Maculelê: Joel Zimmer, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chacarera: Pflatau, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Moko Jumbie: COD Newsroom, CC BY 2.0, source
- Worry doll: Leena, CC BY 3.0, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source