Post on 07-Mar-2023
London School of Economics & Political Science
MSc City Design & Social Science
David Montero Jalil
@DMonteroJalil
Carnival 365:Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
ContentsThe Context 4
The Plan 7
The Carnival 8
Carnival’s difficulties and challenges 18
Strategy 23
Conclusion 34
End Notes 35
References 36
Acknowledgements 39
(Oyala, 2012)3
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
The Context: risk of unequal quality of life alongside economic growth
Barranquilla, one of the most populated cities of Colombia, lately has been experiencing its
highest economic growth in years. Due to its strategic coastal location for international commerce
and industrial activities, central and local governments have been undertaking large public
investment to make the city a logistics platform for the continent, at the same time signing
commercial agreements with highly developed countries such as the United States and those
within the European Union.
Within this conjuncture the concept of urban sustainability has gained importance in the political
arena while international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank have
allocated capital to facilitate the construction of the necessary infrastructure to materialize the
vision of a more sustainable and competitive city. However, not all sectors of the city feel
optimistic about the results of these plans in the long run. There are concerns that there is the risk
of failure in achieving balanced progress in terms of economic growth, social equity and
environmental preservation. From the citizens’ perspective, there is a general perception about the
city doing better in terms of infrastructure that support economic growth, such as motorways,
rather than in terms of public spaces that provide everyday quality of life to its citizens, in the form
of parks and green areas. According to the results of an official survey in 2012, of 1209 citizens
from different sectors, 47% were dissatisfied with the state of parks, green areas and sport zones
of their neighborhoods; on the other hand, in answer to the question about satisfaction with the
state of roads, a majority of 58% of respondents answered that they were satisfied
(IPSOS - Napoleon Franco, 2012).
47%of citizens are dissatisfied
with the state of parks, green areas and
sport zones
58%of citizens are satisfied with the state of roads
244%was the growth of public
revenues between 2006 – 2011
Figures sources:Top: (Portafolio.co, 2013) Middle & Bottom: (IPSOS - Napoleon Franco, 2012)
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
The city seems to be taking the right decisions when investing in the enhancement of the
infrastructure of the city to take advantage of the opportunity to boost its competitiveness
and economic growth by attracting foreign investors, generating employment and increasing
public revenues. However, to achieve sustainable development it is also important to
redistribute public resources by providing infrastructure for social equity and environmental
preservation. Although the growth of economic capital is important, it does not assure the
enhancement of wellbeing equally for all citizens. Other kinds of capital, e.g. cultural, are also
important to grow. The investments in public spaces for cultural development provide equal
opportunities to citizens for improving their daily quality of life because they can be used by
everyone regardless of their type of employment, socioeconomic status, age, race or physical
capacity (Penalosa, 2012). This is more relevant than ever in cities like Barranquilla where social
and physical segregation still exist, and which has 30.4% of its inhabitants living in poverty
(approximately 421,000 inhabitants), and 3.8% living in extreme poverty (approximately 52,700
inhabitants) (DANE, 2013), but where a better quality of life could be offered equally to its
citizens.
In Barranquilla due to the lack of high quality parks and plazas to fulfill human needs, new
shopping malls and exclusive private commercial spaces, only affordable to a small part of the
society, have been turning into the main alternatives to public space. These behaviors
contradict the current vision of the city to provide a socially inclusive and healthy public area.
Whilst the city makes efforts to increase its economic capital and the people’s income to
reduce poverty, other kinds of non-monetary inequalities can be reduced by democratizing
the right to fulfill non-material needs in public spaces. An analysis of Abraham Maslow’s
theory of human motivation (1943) provides an understanding of needs that can be fulfilled
independently of purchasing power levels. While a lack of economic resources may threaten
the fulfillment of citizens’ biological and physiological needs, public spaces and cultural
manifestations, e.g. festivals and carnivals, provide opportunities to meet other needs, for
instance a sense of belonging, social recognition, artistic fulfillment and expression.
Fig 1. Jose Prudencio Padilla Park in poor condition (Author 2012).
Figures sources:: Top: (Alcaldia de Barranquilla, 2011) Middle & Bottom: (DANE, 2013)
1.386.865inhabitants has
Barranquilla
30.4%of inhabitants living in conditions of poverty
3.8%of inhabitants living
in conditions of extreme poverty
5
Barranquilla has a huge carnival that represents the high cultural capital that the city
has to promote both economic growth and social equity. The carnival is a macro
event that is held annually in February across the whole city; it plays a fundamental
role in the promotion of equality as it essentially provides benefits for powerful and
weak sectors of the society driven by historical behaviors of inclusiveness. During the
carnival the city is a live, almost surreal show of citizens, from very different high and
low socioeconomic classes, coexisting and preserving traditions together. During
these festivities, people participate and share the public domain with high intensity
fuelled by common personal interests and the general motivation for preserving city
traditions (Montero, 2012). These circumstances reflect David Harvey’s idea of the
right to the city, which ‘is far more than the individual liberty to access urban
resources: it is a right to change ourselves by changing the city.’ (Harvey, 2008).
Evidently, a shared culture proves to be a magnet that pulls different people, who are
willing to reinforce common behaviors around the carnival, into communal spaces. In
these encounters strangers strengthen communitarian bonds when, within an
environment of anonymity, they realize that they were drawn by shared cultural
preferences to the public realm where they can ‘meet as equals, stripped bare of their
social hierarchies’ (Penalosa, 2008).
Fig 2. Carnival inthe public realm
(Carnaval SA, 2013e)
Given the social inequalities that exist in Barranquilla and the lack of inclusive public environments, this research analyses the
potential of scaling up the main asset of the city’s cultural capital – its carnival – to support a strategy that would materialize the
vision of a city with useful, attractive, inclusive and vibrant public places that promote equality of quality of life during the whole
year (Penalosa, 2012).
Methodology
Ethnographic research is done to understand the cultural DNA of the city, both during the carnival and the rest of the year, in
order to have elements for the construction of the strategy. The research is done mainly on two levels: institutional and ground
level, and has input from local authorities, academics, citizens, private and non-governmental organizations. From informal
conversations, formal interviews, field observation and direct experience in the city the author analyses holistically physical, social,
economic aspects among others.
The first section of the work explains the importance of the carnival as part of the cultural capital of the city, and the social
inclusiveness that occurs in public spaces when it takes place. The second section explains the main needs and challenges that the
stakeholders of the carnival have in order to keep taking advantage of and growing this asset for the public good of the city. The
third section proposes the strategy for Carnival 365 to provide solutions both to the lack of inclusive public spaces in the city, and
the challenges of the carnival to keep operating in the long run. For this purpose, the strategy integrates carnival initiatives and
processes that are already operating in the city and have the potential to be scaled up to be available during the entire year in
public spaces. Four main pillars of action are recommended to be implemented with specific initiatives that can be fostered to be
the cement that would sustain the pillars of the strategy in its early stages of creation. The strategy proposes incremental
solutions to understanding the city’s own capabilities and limitations, instead of embedding external models or initiatives that
could be disrupting in the early stages of implementation. Finally, the conclusion connects the solutions that the strategy of
Carnival 365 gives, based on the principles of equality within the context and urban complexities of Barranquilla, and provides a
wider reflection about the relevance of the cultural capital of cities to provide quality of life and opportunities to citizens, despite
the existence of large social inequalities.
The Plan
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
7
Barranquilla’s carnival is the biggest and the most important cultural event in Colombia and it is a
Masterpiece, as inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
(UNESCO, 2012). More than 1.5 million people from Barranquilla and abroad participate and give
continuity to a tradition of more than a hundred years. The carnival is held once a year over four
days, from the Saturday to Tuesday before Ash Wednesday¹. However, some pre-carnival events
also occur in January. It is, no doubt, the most representative asset of Barranquilla, a space where
local citizens from different socioeconomic classes congregate to participate in parades, festivals,
concerts, and informal parties on street corners and sidewalks. The public realm in different
localities of Barranquilla becomes a set of inclusive spaces where people put aside socioeconomic
differences to celebrate as a community the recreation of cultural traditions in an environment of
party (Montero, 2012).
The history of this carnival begins in the colonial era of Colombia as a fusion of a triple heritage
(European, African and Native American). Christian festivities brought by Spanish conquerors were
combined with indigenous ceremonials and the secular rites of African slaves. As a result, a
process of cultural syncretism has continued through the centuries to the present day. Traditional
and popular folkloric representations from the wealthiest and poorest sectors of the society
continue to be expressed (Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia, 2002, p. 23). Today, as in the early
days, the large social segregation produced by inequality disappears during the carnival. A mutual
reliance continues to build a cultural macro event that has become a large source of common
pride for the citizens, which are fundamental to maintaining built environments with their
spontaneity. Corporal dancing movements, musicians performing live music, choreographies,
jokes, smiles, screams are fundamental elements that constitute the DNA of the carnival. Besides
organized artistic groups of carnival-makers, in the carnival ordinary spectators become animated,
playing a key role in a macro urban environment of fiesta. By just wearing fancy dress, clothes full
of color, or masks, every person contributes to the collective cultural manifestation.
The Carnival
Fig 3. Carnival traditions (Oyala, 2012)
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
When analyzing behaviors of civility and disorder, most of the time civility seems to rule in the public realm because everyone has
the right to be there and is important to the carnival, but the recocha is always present. Recocha is a popular word used in the city
to define an intended moment of friendly disorder for fun. There is no specific method to create a recocha, the recocha is created
spontaneously with acts like known people or strangers throwing water or flour over others, dancers pulling unaware spectators to
the street to invite them to dance or men in a street corner flattering every girl that walks by. However, under the effects of alcohol
some moments of recocha can be transformed into real disorder and incivility when people go beyond the limits of respect. It is
interesting that the reaction of people when they do not want to be bothered or do not want to participate in these moments, is
generally just to say ‘take it easy’ or ‘that’s enough’ which diffuses the situation.
Fig 4. Moments of recocha.Left & Center: (Cantello, 2010) Right: (Cantello, 2012)
The carnival: a shared cultural asset
The carnival is a cultural asset owned and maintained by wealthy and poor social sectors at the same time. The essential
components to build the carnival are non-material resources that are difficult or impossible to measure in monetary terms. A
principal example is the cultural knowledge mostly accrued by people living in the poorest areas of the city due to the transfer that
has occurred from generation to generation for over a hundred years. An important peculiarity of the possession of cultural
resources by poor social groups of Barranquilla is their motivation to share them without monopolizing them. They are convinced
that the preservation of the carnival is more important than attaining personal benefits. Their motivation for sharing their
knowledge openly goes against the logic of economic capitalism, which inversely seeks to accumulate technologies and resources
without sharing them in order to generate more profits in the market economy.
9
Spaces and behaviors in the carnival
The carnival is not held in one specific place, it is a network of events in the whole city with vibrant atmosphere of celebration
rituals constituted by the congregation of diverse social, economic and physical elements that represent the identity of
Barranquilla. These rituals are not essentially different from those that constitute and inform the so-called routine of daily life
(DaMatta, 1979, pp. 53 - 54).
To examine the peculiarities of our society is to study as well those zones of
encounter and mediation, the squares and churchyards which are the sites of
carnivals, processions, and roguish forms of behavior. These are zones where
rational, normal time is suspended and a new routine must be innovated and
repeated, where problems are forgotten or confronted; for here, suspended
between automatic routines and the festival that wishes to reconstruct the
world, we touch the realm of liberty and the domain of what seems to be
essentially human (DaMatta, 1979, p. 4).
The main spaces where carnival activities are held can be grouped into three categories:
1. Public streets, sidewalks, parks, plazas and stadiums
2. Semi-public terraces and curbs
3. Private venues
Public streets, sidewalks, parks, plazas and stadiums
Carnival events, as with other artistic shows, food festivals, parties, concerts and parades, are held in public spaces such as streets,
sidewalks, parks, plazas and stadiums. The main ones are made in the Vía 40, which is the widest avenue of the city located in the
east of the city. This avenue, parallel to the river, normally serves as the main transport connector between the industrial zone of
Barranquilla and the gates to other cities. It is also used as a fast way to go from the north to the south of the city.
Fig 5. Rituals. (Carnaval SA, 2013e)
11
Vía 40
Calle 84
Carrera 53 / 54
Carrera 44
Calle 70 C
Carrera 8
Carrera 13C
Calle 17
Main streets & avenues where Carnival parades are held Main parks, plazas & stadium where
official Carnival events are organized
Carrera 21B
Map 1. Pubic spaces of the Carnival.. Map courtesy of Fotocopias Jireh.Edited by the author.Events info: (Carnaval SA, 2013a)
The location, type of infrastructures, and permissions are coordinated under the approval of the Secretary of Culture, Heritage and
Tourism of Barranquilla to promote equal accessibility by people of all different socioeconomic levels. Three huge parades are
organized in this avenue: La Batalla de Flores on Saturday, La Gran Parada de Tradición on Sunday, and La Gran Parada de
Comparsas on Monday (Carnaval SA, 2013a). To promote social inclusion and equal rights to participate in these parades, this
organization chooses, by running contests, the traditional carnival-makers that perform their art in the avenue; it also rents places
for private companies to participate with dancers, and coaches covered in advertising material that bring celebrities to the carnival
on decorated stages. For the spectators that surround the Vía 40, dozens of huge bleachers, mini-bleachers are built and open
spaces created. This represents Professor Mehrotra’s concept of the ‘static’ and the ‘kinetic’ world (Mehrotra in Burdett & Sudjic,
2011. pp. 108-115). By using old ‘static’ physical spaces, i.e. streets, avenues and sidewalks, participants in the carnival make ‘kinetic’
environments of informal social exchanges, using movable elements such as bleachers, adapted cars, scaffolds and pallets, for a
short time.
The organizers offer affordable prices for people of any economic level. The average price for three days of access to the events in
the Vía 40 are US$83 for the larger bleachers, US$8.3 for the smaller bleachers, and access to the spaces where people can watch
the parades standing is free² (Montero, 2012). However, there is growing city debate about the social exclusion that the set of
bleachers for rent create as they occupy the majority of spaces around the parade (Diario ADN, 2013).
Fig 6. The static & the kinetic. Left:(Author, 2012), Right (Carnaval SA, 2013e)
The physical fence between bleachers and street exemplifies a
permeable ‘border’ (Sennett, 2008) that allows direct interaction
between spectators and dancers. Applause, smiles and screams
go from one side of the fence to the other in an environment full
of music and color. Carnival-makers, dancers and actors in the
street are admired by the spectators in the bleachers (Montero,
2012). These encounters provide ‘cultural stimulation, and help
heal society's divisions of race, class, and ethnicity’ as Richard
Sennett explains should occur in an ideal city (2008).
During the carnival, and due to the increase of spectators
and limitations of including the 667 folkloric groups of the
city in the Vía 40, other carnival promoters in addition to
Carnaval SA organize parades in the principal streets that
are smaller than the Vía 40 during pre-carnival and carnival
times. Parades such as La Guacherna and the Childrens’
Carnival take place once in the pre-carnival season; others
like the Carnival of the 44th avenue are organized during
the carnival at the same time as that of those in the Vía 40.
Fig 7. Borders in the Vía 40. (Courtesy of Carnaval SA , 2012)
Fig 8. Borders in La Guacherna(Carnaval SA, 2013e)
Other pre-carnival and carnival events are held also in public stadiums with free access. This is the case of the Carnival Queen
and King Coronation which is a huge spectacle and musical concert celebrating the annual election of the Queen and the King
of the Carnival, and the Lectura del Bando event in which the Queen dictates, among many jokes and sarcastic humor, mandates
for the citizens to participate in the carnival. One example is ‘I give to each of the Barranquilleros license for partying without
limit of time’ (Zonaceroinfo, 2013).
13
The growth of the carnival and the need for more public spaces in which to organize events is becoming a major topic of relevance
in the city. This need, positively correlated to both the trend for urbanization and the growing attraction of the carnival for tourists,
is inevitably becoming an important subject for urban studies. Considering that the days of the carnival are fixed due to the
tradition of celebrating over the weekend before Ash Wednesday, physical solutions could be found like designing new spaces
during the same days, or temporal solutions could be explored, for instance increasing the days of the carnival before Ash
Wednesday. But taking into account the macro context of the city, this work goes beyond a proposal to celebrate a few more days
before the carnival; it explores the opportunities, benefits and challenges of promoting carnival events during many more days of
the year.
Semi-public terraces and curbs
Walking through Barranquilla during both carnival season and off-season, one peculiarity of
Barranquilla’s socio-spatial landscape is the high amount of terraces and curbs with an
average height of 1 meter at the front or at the back of houses and buildings. Historically,
terraces and curbs have been important physical spaces for social exchanges in Barranquilla.
During the week citizens often create micro environments using these physical elements to
chat, to wait for the bus, to play games, e.g. dominoes, or just to have breaks during working
hours. But during the weekends these same places are used for leisure activities and parties,
the latter being more intense during the carnival. People gather on the curbs, dance on the
sidewalks and even in the middle of the streets that surround crowded bars and restaurants.
Access by cars to the street is forbidden to the citizens and therefore car users are obliged
to park their cars and walk. In many parades, such as the Garabato and the Cumbiamba that
occur in the streets, people also take ownership of sidewalks and semi-public curbs to watch
the spectacle. A sense of disorder is accepted within the environment of fiesta. In fact, as the
advisor to the Secretary of Culture, Heritage and Tourism explains, the set of parades held in
the 44th avenue are called ‘The Curb Carnival’ due to the way spectators watch the parades
from the curbs and create parties on the sidewalks and terraces surrounding the main
avenue (De La Cruz, 2013).
Fig 9. Curbs & Terraces(Author, 2013)
A predominant characteristic of the urban landscape of
Barranquilla is the role of convenience stores in creating
micro environments that stimulate social exchanges.
Historically, the tienda, which in Barranquilla is the name
given to the convenience stores that sell products for
everyday consumption, has been more than just a place to
buy goods; tiendas usually with a terrace in front with curbs
and chairs, are a main point for people’s interaction in
neighborhoods. Jane Jacobs’ (1992) idea that casual
interaction with others on everyday urban streets leads to
social cohesion and a sense of belonging is represented in
these places. It is normal to see groups of people chatting on
the terraces of tiendas and also outside bars. These open
semi-public spaces where private commercial establishments
meet the public sidewalks host encounters of people that
appropriate the space for short durations of time. During the
carnival these encounters are more intense, and the music
plays louder in the background of celebrations. People gather
to make parties in situ or use them as meeting points to go to
other events. This explains why the carnival is made up of a
network of large and small places and parties that together
create the whole environment of the city.
Fig 10. Top: Tienda. (Author, 2012)
Fig 11. Bottom: Estadero ‘La Troja’ (Col, 2011). ‘Estadero’ (stay-er) is the name given to the kind of private commercial place where traditionally people go to have drinks and ‘stay’.
15
Pop up social commerce
In streets, on sidewalks, semi-public terraces and next to curbs, ‘pop up’ stores are set up in Barranquilla, people mainly from poor
neighborhoods sell products and food for quick consumption become cores of social micro environments in which unknown citizens
constantly meet up and have spontaneous talks while buying something quick or having a rest. This is apparent throughout the year,
but during the carnival these micro economies reach their peak. Chewing gum, chocolates, juices, sodas, coffee and other small
products are sold constantly within these social micro environments. Many of these little movable (pop up) shops are creatively
constructed by attaching shelves to bicycles, so that they can be moved all around the city. The majority of them sell popular food
and drinks like ‘fritos’ which means ‘fried’ and refers to fried patties filled with chicken, meat, cheese and other ingredients.
On average the price for an ‘empanada’ which is a kind of fried patty is COP$1.000 /
US$0.5, and the price for a glass of just-made natural juice is on average COP$2.000 /
US$1. Together two empanadas and a glass of juice therefore make a quick meal for
COP$4.000 / US$2. The authentic food is a strong ‘magnet’ that pulls people towards
these micro environments stimulated by the pop up shops. Besides providing
opportunities for poorer people to make their living, this cultural asset helps to harmonize
conviviality in public places and create bonds of trust among strangers. ‘
The trust of a city street is formed over time from many, many little public sidewalk
contacts’ (Jacobs, 1992, p. 56).
Fig 12. Pop up stores in the public realm. All (Author, 2012) but second on the top: (EsAcademic.com, 2010)
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
Economic catalyst
The high number of spectators at carnival events is of great interest to large corporations in
terms of sales and advertising. Many companies take advantage of promoting their products
and services at these events. In 2013 the carnival had 65,000 TV viewers from 83 different
countries (Carnaval SA, 2013b). The carnival is an important motor for economic activities in
the city. As it is the biggest and considered to be the most important cultural event in
Colombia, it is a key asset that attracts tourism to Barranquilla. In 2013 during the four days
of the carnival 96% of the total number of hotel rooms in the city were occupied; the
estimate of total income related to the carnival was COP$64’800.000.000 / US$32.400.000;
together citizens and tourists created a mass of 1,674,000 spectators attending events; and
183 local and international media organizations covered the events (Carnaval SA, 2013c, pp.
56-57). Pedro Mesa, manager of the Hotel Dann, one of the best positioned in the city,
confirms that the high season for hotel occupation in Barranquilla is during the four days of
carnival in February. Due to the high demand for rooms, prices per night in high quality
hotels go up from an average of COP$180.000 pesos (US$95) to COP$380.000 pesos
(US$190) meaning an increase of more than 100%. ‘Tourists come for two reasons, to know
about the historical traditions of the Carnival and to have fun in parties and concerts. They
recognize the importance of the Carnival as a masterpiece inscribed in the representative list
of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity’ (Mesa, 2013).
1,674,000spectators attended
carnival events in 2013
96%of the total number of
hotel rooms in the city
were
occupied during
the carnival in
2013
Fig 13. Pedro Mesa, hotel manager interviewedduring the research. (Author, 2013)
‘The best days of the year for the tourism industry are the ones of the carnival.
Unfortunately, during the rest of the year there are not many carnival activities to attract
more foreign people. One problem is the lack of public spaces to present shows by the
carnival groups. In our hotel sometimes we hire some groups for short demonstrations,
but the atmosphere of the carnival is not felt in the same way. We would like to have
public spaces where the general public can go during the whole year and feel the real
atmosphere of the carnival; we, as a hotel, would take the customers to those places so
they can know about the carnival and enjoy it’ (Mesa, 2013).
17
Carnival’s difficulties and challenges
Lack of space for carnival-makers
Preparation for the carnival continues all year round; dancers, musicians and actors, the majority without any specialized official
education, train themselves to create and perform wonderful spectacles in public places. Among the carnival-makers interviewed
for this research, there is consensus about the need for physical spaces in which to practice dances and give demonstrations
throughout the year, the former being the most important need for carnival dancers. Throughout the year they have to practice in
spaces that are usually smaller than the real spaces in which they perform during the carnival.
‘I wish we could have
more spaces to practice
and to show our dances
throughout the year:
parks, open spaces or
even parking lots’
(Toloza, 2013).
Groups of carnival dancers compete every year to win the
Congo de Oro (Golden Congo) award which is granted to the
best group’s performance. Dancers also compete in a contest
for the chance to participate in the most important parades of
the following year’s carnival. Cultural experts evaluate groups’
performances in the main parades and also in shows on
different stages. In the case of groups of Cumbia dancers³, they
need to make presentations on stages with a minimum of 15
and a maximum of 20 couples, meaning that the stages allow
from 30 to 40 dancers to perform simultaneously. Eric, a
carnival-maker affirms: “we have to do the big ‘Cumbia circle’
with all the 15 couples; unfortunately the streets where we
practice are too narrow to do it properly” (Toloza, 2013).
The Cumbia is a dance of "fine flirtation". It was danced in
festivals of Barranquilla and towns of the Colombian Caribbean.
They danced making a wheel where musicians were located in
the center while the dancers moved in circles with gallant and
flirty movements (Reina del carnaval 2013, 2013).
Fig 14. Carnival-makers from the barrio Chiquinquirá specialized in the Cumbiadance. Top: Eric Toloza. Bottom: Maestro Francisco Peñate, director of La CumbiambaLa Guapachosa holding their Congo de Oro during an interview.(Author, 2013)
The Congo is a character and a dance based on traditional warrior groups of the Congo in Africa.
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
Limitations to the adaptation of parks for cultural events
The local government has decided to create a plan to recuperate 168 parks in the city that could be adapted to provide proper
spaces for carnival activities during the whole year. The strategy to accomplish this goal is based on three main action plans:
investment, maintenance and administration. According to the Chief Director for the parks and plazas recuperation plan of the
Foro Hidrico, the current local government is concerned about the need to secure execution of the plan in the medium and long
term, because of the change of local government that occurs every four years (Acosta, 2013). In Barranquilla, as in many cities of
Colombia, the long term duration of governmental programs is often at risk when new governments are elected in cities and
municipalities. Although many plans, programs and projects are created to last for a longer period of time, and even when plans
from past governments are kept, every new government has its own political priorities and interests. Budgets and allocation of
resources are reorganized to pursue their main goals. Hence, the resources available for the continuation of previous plans are
often reduced. Therefore, the current government of Barranquilla desires to create a new external non-profit institution which
would be able to develop a vision and secure the execution of long term plans for investment in, and the maintenance and
administration of the parks and plazas of Barranquilla. The foundation would have enough independence to ensure the
accomplishment of its specific mission while being self-sustainable and legally viable in order to receive donations from the
private sector and others to avoid relying only on public funds.
19
Educational needs to survive
‘Who abandons his roots dies’ affirms Mirtha Buelvas, with
regard to the importance of preserving the traditions of the
carnival. She is a psychologist, anthropologist and cultural
researcher who has been studying the carnival of Barranquilla
for many years (2013). The carnival has many centuries of
traditions that are at risk of disappearing if they are not
taught from generation to generation. When asking the
carnival-makers (traditional citizen groups who perform any
kind of ritual, dance or parody during the carnival) about the
most important elements to be able to promote spaces for
the carnival during the whole year, all of them spoke of the
need to educate people about the carnival traditions. They
consider that their most important mission is to keep alive
the carnival by transmitting knowledge to others. These
carnival-makers, who live mostly in the poorest areas of
Barranquilla, are the main actors in the events. Their skills and
knowledge, non-material assets, have been their heritage,
passed from generation to generation, for hundreds of years;
they have a full knowledge of the culture and traditions of the
carnival. Ironically, despite their low economic resources, they
accrue some of the richest knowledge and skills that are
essential to the preservation of the carnival.
Without the carnival-makers, the city would not be able to
preserve the carnival and to participate in it; they are the
people who know what music and dance is best suited to
inspire the magic and joy in the streets.
Considering the precarious living conditions of these carnival-
makers, one might expect that they would monopolize the
knowledge and convert it into an asset that might improve
their living conditions. Surprisingly, they do not show such a
selfish attitude, instead, they are happy whenever someone is
interested in participating in the carnival, and they show
constant eagerness to teach the history of the traditions to
allow others to preserve them. In fact, many of the carnival-
makers that have maintained dances and rituals for decades
now have non-profit organizations dedicated entirely to the
education of children to keep alive their historical knowledge
of performance.
Fig 15. Edaida Orozco: director of the Paloteo dance which is at risk of disappearing due to the lack of spread of knowledge about the tradition. Hitting hand-made wood sticks this dance represents the confrontation between nations at the time of the conquest. (Author, 2013)
Carnival-makers’ economic difficulties
Most of carnival-makers and traditional dancers have to use their own resources to pay for their groups’ expenses to practice
during the year and to perform during the carnival in February. They use money earned from their regular jobs, ask for money
from private sponsors and also organize crowd-funding activities, e.g. raffles, bingo games and organized trips to make profits to
be used for carnival activities. All the costs that carnival groups have in order to perform during the carnival pose difficulties for
their survival. During the carnival, dancers participate in street parades and perform on stages. On average a group of Cumbia
dancers composed of 30 to 40 people spends COP$7 million (pesos) / US$ 3500 for transportation to events. In terms of expenses
for the paraphernalia and costumes, each Cumbia’s dress for men costs COP$250.000 / US$125, and each woman’s dress
COP$532.000 / US$266 due to the 10 meters of skirts they need to perform the dance authentically. Comparing the cost of one
woman’s dress to the minimum monthly wage (mmw) in Colombia for 2013 which is US$327 (excluding the subsidy for
transportation), one can see that one dress represents 81% of the amount.
There is a strong need for developing entrepreneurial capabilities in the carnival-makers to provide them with income streams
based on their skills. Nowadays, the idea of developing a carnival industry is gaining strength with the need to make the carnival
sustainable in the long run. But there is a big contradiction within the economics of the carnival. In the macro-scale, every year
more private companies take advantage of the carnival to organize events and to make profits derived from strong advertising
campaigns to promote their products. However, the carnival-makers who keep alive the essence of the carnival often receive little
benefit from all the economic transactions that occur. The same happens in the micro-scale every time that a carnival traditional
dancing group performs in public places. Spectators and tourists enjoy the presentations but the economic benefits are mainly
received by the pop up social commerce that takes place in the surrounding areas of the shows. In general, carnival-makers are
excluded from the profit making processes. It is important to understand the economic opportunities that are created from
carnival activities and to distribute them fairly. As public spaces cannot be privatized or become exclusive by charging people for
watching carnival training or shows, there is a need to find creative sources of income for carnival-makers. Hence, to develop
revenue streams for carnival-makers is an important challenge to overcome.
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
21
Corporate branding putting the carnival’s identity at risk
Private corporations have a great interest in the carnival because it represents a big opportunity to promote their brands, products
and services. Economically, at the city and institutional levels, this interest is beneficial for the organization and logistics of the
carnival events. However, on the ground level the need for carnival-makers to raise money for their activities, and the corporate
interests of the companies produce a precarious mix for the preservation of essential traditions. Due to the lack of resources to
cover their needs, many carnival-makers have been asking private companies to sponsor their activities in exchange for promoting
company/brand logos on their presentations. The director of the principal carnival promoter organization Carnaval SA, affirms that
‘due to the necessity of making some spectacles and the lack of important resources, some folkloric groups are forced to be part of
an increasing commercialization or sponsorships that blur their image and, therefore, the image of the Carnival’ (Celia, 2013, p. 15).
This is detrimental to the preservation of their authentic image represented by their hand-made fancy dresses, masks and the rest
of the paraphernalia that are all based on historical characteristics and symbols of their cultural identities. However, new ideas to
develop partnerships among private companies and carnival-makers could be explored under strong principles of equality to
distribute benefits, and for the protection of the carnival groups’ historical identities.
The carnival’s events administration
According to Article 5° of Act 2941 issued in 2009 by the Ministry of Interior and Justice of Colombia, ‘any person will be able to
abrogate his ownership of the Cultural Immaterial Heritage of the country, or affect the fundamental, collective and social rights,
that people and communities have to the access, enjoyment or creation of such heritage’ (Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia,
2013). Currently, the local authorities coordinate the development of the carnival’s initiatives, but the company Carnaval SA, which
is mainly privately owned, manages the biggest carnival events. Only 41% of the shares belong to the public authorities of
Barranquilla. Although, Carnaval SA has a mixed public-private Board of Directors, including representatives of the carnival-makers
among others, its private nature in terms of ownership, and the revenues they produce using public spaces and heritage events,
have been negatively critiqued and discussed in the political arena (Fernandez, 2013). As the carnival grows, new promoting
organizations similar to Carnaval SA have been independently created to cover other areas of the city, and the same discussion of
ownership and control of these promoters in political debate continues. In order to protect and grow the carnival, in administrative
terms the challenge is to promote strategies with democratic practices in socially inclusive decision-making, fair distribution of
rights to use public assets, and equal distribution of benefits resulting from the events. This includes the fair allocation of resources
given by the local and central Government to support the Cultural Immaterial Heritage of the country (Ministerio de Cultura de
Colombia, 2013).
The strategy of Carnival 365 envisions the building of useful, attractive and inclusive public places in Barranquilla while increasing
the monetary and non-monetary value of the main cultural asset of the city: its carnival. It proposes articulating plans to promote
the carnival during the entire year with plans to regenerate the city’s parks. As happens already in the city, cultural patterns in
public spaces, like those that happen in the carnival, create vibrant environments where human needs are met equally and public
good is achieved by using city resources democratically. Therefore, Carnival 365 proposes to extend the carnival which is the most
intense cultural expression of the city in the public realm, at the same time as adapting parks to provide spaces where this can
happen.
It is considered that the best solutions to enhance and grow the opportunities that the carnival provides should be born from the
input of its stakeholders. They are the ones who know best the needs, strengths, opportunities and threats regarding the idea of
extending carnival activities at other times of the year. For that reason, and with regard to the findings of the research, this work
proposes an initial framework for the strategy based on successful initiatives that are already working and that can be scaled up
within the strategy. The framework should be subject of further holistic analysis in participatory processes with citizens, academics,
local authorities, private organizations and non-profit institutions that are stakeholders of the carnival and the public spaces of the
city. Even though this research has done that, the input of some stakeholders is not enough to achieve a fair social construction of
such an ambitious strategy, a even wider participatory process is needed.
Incremental interventions
Carnival 365’s interventions are recommended to be made incrementally in different stages to receive feedback from citizens
progressively and to test the success of the work done and the ongoing adjustments that may need to be made. It is important to
have a place and initiatives socially constructed instead of simply imposed. It allows social inclusion and stimulation of citizens’
sense of belonging and ownership for the initiatives by taking into account their direct input.
Strategic pillars:
This initial framework proposes four pillars to sustain the social construction of the strategy for Carnival 365:
1. Spatiality, 2. Pedagogy, 3. Cultural Entrepreneurship , 4. Administration.
Strategy: Carnival 365
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
23
Spatiality pillar: building cultural spaces
There is an opportunity to grow the carnival during the year providing
opportunities to carnival-makers to show their work at the same time as
generating economic and social benefits for both them and the city. The first
pillar focuses on the construction or adaptation of public spaces such as parks
and plazas where folkloric groups of the carnival can practice and make
presentations. The periodic presence of these groups can turn into live shows
and be the center of the vibrancy of public spaces. Citizens and tourists can
go to these places at times other than the pre-carnival and carnival seasons to
see and participate in the recreation of carnival activities. From the research it
is evident that some cultural traditions are magnets that pull people from
different backgrounds together within the public domain. The planning of
physical interventions should start by understanding the connection among
these cultural behaviors and spaces in Barranquilla during the carnival and
during the rest of the year. The study of these kinds of particularities provides
knowledge about the elements that should be stimulated and the obstacles
that should be weakened in order to build places based on cultural and
inclusive behaviors.
The design of public spaces can affect the possibility of meeting, seeing and
listening to people. These contact situations can be arranged by appealing to
citizens’ emotions (Gehl in Larice & Macdonald, 2007, pp. 365-370). For
example, terraces, curbs and pop up social commerce are cultural magnets
that allow the creation of socially shared spaces. From this learning, the
design of organized spaces for pop up social commerce could encourage the
continuing magnetism of citizens to the place. People would not only go to
enjoy the cultural environment and carnival activities but also to eat and drink
traditional cuisine. Similarly, it is possible to envision and design spaces similar
to terraces that citizens are used to enjoying, and that allow the creation of
social micro environments along with the spaces in which carnival groups can
perform.
For this pillar, three principles are suggested as
indicators to evaluate the success of interventions:
usefulness, attractiveness and inclusiveness of each
cultural place.
Useful
A useful cultural place would provide citizens with
opportunities to benefit from it on a regular basis to
fulfill some of their human needs; this means that there
is a benefit by going to the place. In this work the
author focuses on the utility that these cultural spaces
provide to citizens as a result principally of the
fulfillment of non-material needs, although some
material needs can also be fulfilled.
Attractive
A physically attractive and well maintained cultural
place can stimulate positive emotions, perceptions and
sense of ownership within citizens; this encourages
them to have a willingness both to come back and to
take care of it.
Inclusive
An inclusive cultural place would be accessible by any
citizen, regardless of their physical, social and economic
condition, or preference. Moreover, as happens in the
carnival, it would create the general perception that the
environment of the place is more complete when
encountered by diverse social groups.
Carnival 365: Spatiality Pillar
Articulation of the Carnival 365 vision with parks regeneration plans
The current government of Barranquilla wishes to create a new external non-profit institution to regenerate the majority of parks
in Barranquilla. These regeneration plans can be articulated with the extension of carnival activities throughout the year. This
articulation would provide solutions to the carnival-makers’ need for proper spaces in which to practice their folkloric activities.
Barranquilla already has an example of successful park regeneration.
The Surisalcedo Park has been the first rebuilt park on the list of the next 186 parks that the government aims to recuperate. What
was meant to be a park to host people from 7am to 6pm has become full of users almost 24 hours per day. The total area of the
park is 4 hectares; a pleasant environment that attracts thousands of users from different ages and socioeconomic levels during
the week. The park has different types of areas that provide opportunities for healthy activities. Playgrounds for children,
basketball courts, furniture for working out, chess tables, green areas with flowers and big trees, and other micro environments
are part of this new public place that has received a general acceptance by citizens (Lopez, 2013).
Fig 16. Surisalcedo Park. (Author, 2013).
Carnival 365: Spatiality Pillar
25
The Carnival Hub
Besides the adaptation of parks for carnival groups’ training and presentations, a Carnival Hub can be created to
establish a headquarters for the integral management of the strategy, and where a special venue can also be built
for year-round presentations on stages similar to those that are temporarily erected for each carnival. Today the
carnival promoter, Carnaval SA, has its headquarters in a house called La Casa del Carnaval (the Carnival’s House)
located in the popular neighborhood of Barrio Abajo. Among its facilities there is a carnival museum and a
courtyard where folkloric groups can practice. However, as the carnival increases in size and the number of
stakeholders increase, it has been suggested that creating a public, independent place where different institutions
and groups can gather and share is now essential. The practical use of La Casa del Carnaval provides evidence of a
place that is worth scaling up. The Carnival Hub can also serve as a space for educational initiatives and carnival-
makers’ meetings and working sessions; these ideas are expanded on in the following sections.
Fig 17. Casa del Carnaval. Left: Exterior viewRight: Interior courtyard where carnival groups practice
Carnival 365: Spatiality Pillar
A pedagogical pillar is fundamental to create more awareness about
the cultural capital of the city, which is owned by all the citizens but
that many do not know well. It is fundamental to spread the
knowledge about carnival traditions and their value in order to have
even more citizens caring about the carnival.
Some initiatives from different actors have been created in line with
the thought that preserving traditions is a key aspect to keep the
carnival alive. Sígueme el Paso (Follow my Move) is a pedagogical
initiative created by the Carnival Queen of 2013, Daniela Cepeda
Tarud. It consists of the creation of social circles in different localities
of the city to spread knowledge about the history and traditions of
folkloric activities of the carnival. Every session is organized in two
parts, in the first, carnival-makers, many without higher education
degrees, give lectures and answer questions from the general public
about the story of the origins and evolution of the specific traditional
dance or ritual that they preserve. The second part consists of
teaching the public how to perform the rituals or dances with live
music. At the end of the session tens of participants guided by
carnival-makers perform choreographies in which everybody executes
a centennial tradition that should be preserved (Cepeda, 2013).
‘We make the chidrens’ carnival in
parks, because parks are physical
symbols of joy for kids’
(Diazgranados, 2013).
Fig. 19. Hugo Diazgranados. (Author, 2013)
‘We cannot embrace something if we do not
know it’ affirmed Daniela, referring to the
need to spread knowledge about the
carnival to citizens to promote sense of
ownership (Cepeda, 2013).
Fig. 18. Daniela Cepeda Tarud. Carnival Queen 2013. (Author, 2013)
Another exemplary initiative that should be scaled up is
the Carnaval de los Niños (Childrens’ Carnival) which is
coordinated by Hugo Diazgranados. He affirms that his
mission is to preserve the carnival by teaching children
about its traditions. He focuses on the recreation of the
‘Paco-pacos’, parties for children aged between six and
eight years old, that were made more than a hundred
years ago, but that have been disappearing with the
passage of time. Paco-paco is the Spanish translation of
grasshopper, the main actor of the party. Like these,
other parties were held a long time ago with different
main actors for different age ranges. Parties for children
with ages between four and six years were called
Mosquitos; those for teenagers were called Langostas
(Lobsters); parties for adults were called Verbenas or
Salones Burreros which today are names still used for
popular carnival parties.
2. Pedagogical pillar: educating for awareness and sense of ownership
Carnival 365: Educational Pillar
29
The Secretary of Culture, Heritage and Tourism of Barranquilla
manages two educational programs for the raising and support of
cultural actors. On the one hand, there are 44 District Cultural
Houses in which children and teenagers gain cultural knowledge
and develop artistic skills. On the other hand there is a District
House of Arts in which higher education is provided to
professionalize the work of artists, many of whom started
developing their skills in a District Cultural House when they were
younger. As suggested by Liliana De La Cruz, advisor to the
Secretary of Culture, Heritage and Tourism of Barranquilla, these
educational programs could be articulated with the programming
of events in the Cultural Spaces contemplated in the Spatiality
pillar.
Fig. 19. Paco-Pacos. Left: Paco-paco party. (Carnaval SA, 2013e)
Right: Childrens’Carnival educational booklet. Courtesy of Carnaval SA.
Although all these pedagogical initiatives should be
enhanced in the operation of the Carnival 365 strategy,
unfortunately the lack of economic resources is a strong
limitation. However carnival-makers see opportunities in
these limitations. As Eric Toloza from la Cumbiamba la
Guapachosa from the barrio Chiquinquirá explains: ‘The
diffusion of our work as carnival-makers can generate
resources if an entrepreneurial spirit is developed to leverage
the capacities in order to create a carnival industry. Who is
better than us, the carnival actors, to teach about the
traditions? By increasing the number of pedagogical
initiatives throughout the year we could share knowledge to
preserve the carnival while generating revenues to make our
work as carnival-makers economically sustainable’ (Toloza,
2013).
Fig. 20. Liliana De La Cruz. Advisor to the Secretary of Culture, Heritage and Tourism of
Barranquilla. Image: courtesy of the interviewee.
‘Cultural actors in formation would
be able to use those cultural
spaces for training, and making
public live shows for the
entertainment of citizens,
including their relatives who
usually go to see their
performances’
(De La Cruz, 2013).
Carnival 365: Educational Pillar
Big private actors benefit from the high amount of economic
transactions that occur around the carnival which is part of the
cultural capital of Barranquilla. But carnival-makers who have
accrued the greatest knowledge and skills to maintain the traditions
struggle to find resources for their subsistence. With a growing
carnival, there is a higher potential for carnival-makers to gain
resources to preserve the carnival and make their activities viable.
The third pillar of the Carnival 365 strategy could focus on the
development of the cultural entrepreneurship skills of carnival-
makers and their folkloric groups.
Differently from private capitalist models that have as their main
goal the growth of economic benefits for shareholders, a cultural
entrepreneurship model would work principally to achieve the
solution of cultural needs, in this case related to the protection and
growth of the carnival, and secondly to create economic benefits
for the cultural entrepreneurs. Hence, cultural entrepreneurships
should maintain two objectives: first, to solve the cultural need to
preserve the carnival’s traditions, and second, to earn resources to
be able to make their living based on their work. Fortunately, this
latter principle has already been embraced by carnival-makers. They
prefer to avoid monopolizing their knowledge in order to recreate
the carnival every year. While they struggle to find opportunities to
make their living and carnival activities possible, they conform to
the fulfillment of their non-material human needs by receiving
admiration and applause. However, the strategy should actively
promote an equality of opportunities for carnival-makers to
continue both their work and everyday life.
For the extension of carnival-makers’ activities envisioned in
the strategy Carnival 365, the creation of new revenue streams
for them is fundamental. Aligned with the pillar of pedagogy,
educational programs about cultural entrepreneurship can be
created. Some initiatives that have already been developed in
line with this can also be scaled up. The Secretary of Culture
has a ‘Stimulus Fund’ to support carnival-makers that are
involved in educational programs (De La Cruz, 2013). Also
some universities in partnership with private sponsors have
been offering scholarships for seminars to develop
entrepreneurial and leadership skills for carnival-makers. Some
modules of this educational program are: Cultural
Management and Carnival; Visual Arts and Carnival, among
others (Carnaval SA, 2013d, p. 88). As a result of these
seminars, some carnival-makers have teamed up and created
their own non-profit organizations. One of these is the
Foundation ‘Orígenes’ with the slogan ‘what connects us unites
us’. They are working to articulate carnival groups for the
creation of social businesses (Calderin, 2013).
3. Cultural Entrepreneurship pillar: empowering carnival-makers with cultural entrepreneurial skills
Fig. 21. Carnival-makers
members of the ‘Orígenes’
Foundation.
(Author, 2013)
Carnival 365: Cultural Entrepreneurship Pillar
31
‘Since the beginnings of the Carnival of Barranquilla, the creation of
crafts has been maintained as a traditional activity and cultural heritage
among carnival-makers. Masks, shields, hats, turbans, headdresses,
skirts and other products are made for the paraphernalia of the
Carnival. ‘Handmade Carnival’ is a program created by Carnaval SA that
supports carnival crafts makers to support them in the finding of
revenues streams to make their work sustainable. According to Ana
Maria Osorio, Communications Director of Carnaval SA, ‘the program
offers training sessions to help craftsmen to improve the quality of their
products so that they can attract more buyers in the market.
Different creative sectors around the carnival have high potential to be
core operations of cultural entrepreneurships based on carnival-makers’
knowledge and skills: crafts, dance, theatre, music, gastronomy, clothing
and communications are some examples (2013).
Craft-making businesses could be supported by private
companies, win-win strategies between carnival-makers and
private sponsors to commercialize their traditional carnival
products, could provide solutions to the problem of corporate
brands putting the carnival’s true identity at risk. The
development of cultural entrepreneurships would permit the
idea of a permanent carnival industry that not only offers
economic benefits to big organizations but also to the
carnival-makers, to materialize. However, it is important to
unite the carnival’s stakeholders for the creation of a joint
vision and the planning of an inclusive agenda. Hence, an
organizational pillar is needed to maintain the strategy of
Carnival 365.
Fig. 22. Left: Jose
Llanos who has been a
craftsman for 60 years.
Even though he is not
part of a wealthy
social sector, he is the
King of the Carnival of
Barranquilla 2013.
Image: (ElHeraldo.co,
2013)
Right: carnival’s crafts
(Author, 2012)
‘We are rich in cultural knowledge and skills but we lack tools to build economically sustainable initiatives for our groups’
(Toloza, 2013).
Carnival 365: Cultural Entrepreneurship Pillar
The success of the strategy of Carnival 365 depends on the preservation
of its essence of social inclusion and shared construction. The
participation of the carnival actors that currently operate the carnival is
fundamental. The strategy’s pillars of action are proposed based on the
principal needs and difficulties of the carnival, but also on the resources,
initiatives and socioeconomic dynamics that currently have the potential
of giving solutions if they are scaled up and extended throughout the
year.
Currently there is a city discussion about private sectors having the
majority of ownership of the company Carnaval SA, which is the main
promoting organization administrating the biggest events of the
carnival. While political debates are underway to control this aspect, this
work focuses on the deployment of the strategy Carnival 365
transversely, i.e. to include the stakeholders for its operation, including
not only Carnaval SA and its initiatives, but also other promoting
organizations that have been created due to the growth of the carnival.
Carnival promoter organizations, carnival-makers, local authorities such
as the Mayor, the Secretary of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, the Foro
Hidrico – institution in charge of the city parks regeneration – and the
Secretary of Urban Control and Public Space; private companies –
among them the tourism and media sectors; the police, and universities
should all be part of the ongoing planning and control of the strategy
and its operational initiatives. In order to protect the principle of putting
public good before the private interests of stakeholders, it is important
to maintain independence and neutrality in the coordination of the
strategy. Thus, it is recommended to empower the central and local
governments to direct transversely the initiatives of each pillar.
Therefore, it is fundamental to give a large representation to the
Minister of Culture and the Secretary of Culture, Heritage and
Tourism of Barranquilla on the board of directors of the carnival
promoters’ and carnival-makers’ associations as already happens
in the board of Carnaval SA. It is also advised to invite external
supervisor institutions such as UNESCO, which has a strong
interest in preserving the essence of the Carnival of Barranquilla
as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
For the economic viability of the initiatives, it is primordial to
stimulate public-private partnerships to finance the operation of
the strategy. Although models of private sponsorship of carnival-
makers could be valid, it is mandatory always to maintain the
objective of preserving the authenticity of the carnival’s activities
by discouraging the destructive power that thousands of
advertisements can have against the traditional image and
heritage of the carnival. Finally, in line with the intention of
assuring the economic viability of the strategy of Carnival 365, it is
recommended to envision the creation of tax policies in order to
capture resources for the development of a carnival that benefits
the entire city by increasing its cultural capital.
4. Administrative pillar: working together for a sustainable Carnival 365
Carnival 365: Administrative Pillar
33
Trying to walk through the sidewalks of Barranquilla, one can see
the poor state of the public realm of the city. I say ‘trying’ because
in many cases it is not easy to walk when cars are parked
perpendicularly to the street blocking the sidewalk; or when
crossing a street you find that the curb is too high from the street
level and jumping over it is necessary to reach the sidewalk.
Regarding the state of parks, similar experiences were reflected in
an official survey in 2012 of 1209 citizens from different sectors;
47% of respondents said that they were dissatisfied with the state
of the city’s parks (IPSOS - Napoleon Franco, 2012).
Given these circumstances, this research focused on the need for
the city to find ways to provide equality of quality of life in the
form of public spaces accessible by citizens regardless of their
type of employment, socioeconomic status, age, race or physical
capacity. The work argues that high quality public parks can be
shared and enjoyed by diverse groups for leisure activities,
regardless of income levels. A comfortable public bench under a
tree can be a good place for anyone to have a break from work,
even more so on a hot day when the temperature is over the city’s
average temperature of 37°C. A pleasant, natural landscape can
generally stimulate peaceful feelings, and a playground can
provide fun at the same time for children from poor or wealthy
families. In the same way, arts, e.g. music or dance can also be
generally appreciated by people regardless of how much or little
education they have. With this in mind, the work analyzed cultural
behaviors in the public spaces of Barranquilla and found that
during the days in which the carnival of the city is held, people
from different socioeconomic sectors share public spaces with greater
intensity for the recreation of cultural traditions and festivities, to fulfill
common non-material human needs. Based on the evidence of these
inclusive social activities, the research focused on understanding the
essence, challenges and resources of the carnival to propose the
strategy for Carnival 365 which promotes the creation of cultural spaces
and carnival events during the whole year in conjunction with the local
authority’s long-term parks regeneration plans. Effective and innovative
solutions for social complexities are created every day by citizens from
different sectors independently of their level of education. It is possible
to build strategic frameworks based on the cultural capital of cities to
overcome social challenges by scaling up and articulating successful
cultural initiatives that are already working. Whilst the growth of a city’s
economic capital is important, it does not necessarily result
automatically in the end of poverty or social inequalities. Instead, cities
have other types of capital such as cultural that it is also important to
grow to promote equality of quality of life. The cultural capital of a city
is largely composed of non-material assets that are difficult or
impossible to measure using monetary models but that have great
value to contribute to the creation of public spaces that provide quality
of life. Opposite to economic capital, which is usually controlled by a
minority and has to be socially redistributed through tax policies,
subsidies and welfare initiatives to support deprived sectors, cultural
capital is essentially owned and maintained by wealthy and poor sectors
alike. This shared ownership promotes social cohesion when it is used
to build environments that provide equal opportunities to fulfill citizens’
human needs.
Conclusion
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
¹Ash Wednesday is an important day of the Roman Catholic Church
liturgical calendar. It is the first day of Lent, the season of preparation for
the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.
²The minimum monthly wage (mmw) in Colombia for 2013 is US$327
(excluding the subsidy for transportation). The price to access the big
bleachers represents 25% of the mmw and 2.5% to access the mini-
bleachers (W Radio, 2012).
³The Cumbia is a dance of "fine flirtation". It was danced in festivals of
Barranquilla and towns of the Colombian Caribbean. They danced
making a wheel where musicians were located in the center while the
dancers moved in circles with gallant and flirty movements (Reina del
carnaval 2013, 2013).
End Notes
Carnival 365: Building on the Cultural Capital of Barranquilla
35
Acosta, C., 2013. The State of Parks of Barranquilla [Personal Interview] (24 July 2013).
Alcaldia de Barranquilla, 2011. Conoce a Barranquilla: indicadores. [Online]
Available at: http://www.barranquilla.gov.co/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=121 [Accessed: 23 August 2013].
Buelvas, M., 2013. 'Carnaval de Barranquilla en el Caribe'. Barranquilla, I Encuentro de Carnavales del Caribe.
Burdett, R. & Sudjic, D. eds., 2011. Living in the Endless City. London: Routledge.
Calderin, P., 2013. Fundacion Origenes [Personal Interview] (2 August 2013).
Carnaval SA, 2013a. Programacion Carnaval del Bicentenario. [Online] Available at: http://www.carnavaldebarranquilla.org/carnaval-
2013/programacion-carnaval-del-bicentenario.html [Accessed 20 August 2013].
Carnaval SA, 2013b. Informe de Gestion. [Online] Available at: http://www.carnavaldebarranquilla.org/files/Concejo%202013%20ulti_baja.pdf
[Accessed 20 August 2013].
Carnaval SA, 2013c. Una Gestion para Contar. Carnaval de Barranquilla, Issue 9, pp. 56-57.
Carnaval SA, 2013d. Carnavaleros, cada vez mas capacitados. Carnaval de Barranquilla, Issue 9.
Celia, C., 2013. Vision a Futuro del Carnaval de Barranquilla. Carnaval de Barranquilla, Issue 9, pp. 14-15.
Cepeda, D., 2013. The pespective of the Carnival's Queen 2013 about the importance of educational initiatives [Personal Interview] (6 August 2013).
DaMatta, R., 1979. Carnivals, Rogues, and Heroes: An Interpretation of the Brazilian Dilemma. Translated by John Drury, 1991. Notre Dame, Indiana:
University of Notre Dame Press.
DANE, 2013. Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica. [Online]
Available at: http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/condiciones_vida/pobreza/cp_pobreza_2012.pdf [Accessed 19 August 2013].
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References
Thanks Suzi Hall, Fran Tonkiss, David Madden, Ricky Burdett, Savas Verdis
and Philip Rode from LSE Cities for sharing your expertise to make this
work possible.
Thanks Hacedores del Carnaval (Carnival-Makers ) for opening the doors
of your houses and your hearts to be able to feel your passions and
understand your reasons.
Thanks Alcaldía de Barranquilla, Secretaría de Cultura, Patrimonio y
Turismo, Carnaval SA, and Foro Hídrico for your support.
Thanks Mom & Dad.
Gracias Barranquilla for teaching me to value what is priceless.
Acknowledgements
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