Feria de Cali

Festival

By Brenda Yun

The temperature in Cali is warm to hot all year and, fortunately, there isn't too much rain to speak of either. It may be a bit wetter in March and April. As the salsa dancing capital of Colombia, the city's blowout “Feria de Cali” is the biggest festival in the country and one of the most important in the Americas. For one week at the end of every year, there are bull fights, salsa concerts, beauty and fashion pageants, food festivals, sports events, and city-wide street festivities. To close the year on the 31st of December, there is always a huge concert on the hill in Plaza San Antonio, where song and dance is the center of the new year party.

Let’s also not forget the “Carnaval de Juanchito” held in the municipality of Candelaria at the beginning of every year. Salsa dancing is yet again on display here, as well as Vallecaucan sights, tastes, and sounds. The “Feria Nacional de la Caña de Azúcar” is yet another important festival held in Florida, where the sweet taste of the sugarcane is celebrated and locals wear native costumes parading down the street.