Ancestral and cultural traditions of the Cauca Valley

Valle del Cauca is a land of contrasts where ancestral traditions intertwine with modernity, creating a unique identity. From indigenous rituals to Afro-descendant celebrations, each custom reflects the essence of a people proud of their roots. Join us to discover the stories, flavors and colors that make this region a true cultural treasure.

To arrive in Valle del Cauca is to witness the harmony between an infinity of races and cultures and an incredible amalgam of multiculturalism and tradition.

With more than 150 celebrations throughout the year, including festivals and sacred commemorations, the department vibrates to the rhythm of music, folklore, painting, theater and literature.

Here is just a sample of the cultural flavor of the Valley.

Salsa: Cultural Heritage of the Valley

It is more than well known that salsa is breathed and lived in the Valley. Not for nothing is Cali known as the world capital of the genre. This rhythm, which arrived in Cali through the cargo ships that arrived in Buenaventura, floods the discotheques and has created the famous salsódromos, offering shows of professional dancers that represent the main attraction of this land worldwide.

Cali hosts the World Salsa Festival, an event that turns the capital of the department into a salsa epicenter for 4 days in October and brings together local and international artists, all stars orbiting around salsa. And in the month of December, within the framework of the celebrations of the great Cali Fair, the meeting of salsa lovers, music lovers and collectors takes place, a five-day event especially dedicated to those passionate about the genre, collectors and spectators in general.

The rebirth of Pacific folklore

The rebirth of Pacific folklore The heart of the Pacific zone dances to the sound of countless cultural and folkloric expressions and is known for cultivating its popular traditions. Of mostly African origin, its music dates back to the pellejos dances, so called because the animal skins were used to make the drums that were the soul of the festivities.

Among its native instruments are the guasá, the marimba, the cununo and the bombo or tambora, which are used to perform dances such as the currulao, the best known of the coast.

In the midst of the cultural scene, the Afro-Pacific population has found a space for the recognition and reaffirmation of their identity: the Petronio Alvarez Pacific Music Festival. In it, the Afro-Colombian heritage is the protagonist for 5 days in August. The Petronio pays tribute to the cultural richness of the Afro-descendant communities and to Cali as the capital of the Colombian Pacific. Within the framework of this festival, all kinds of events including music, food, traditional beverages and the ancestral knowledge of the communities of the Colombian Pacific are experienced.

Devotion and religious knowledge are also lived in the Valley.

Devotion and religious knowledge are also lived in the Valley The territory of Valle del Cauca also offers places and spaces for the worship of God and the invocation of the saints. Each and every one of the municipalities that make up the Valley celebrate the day of their Patron Saint; they are known for holding countless processions, pray and sing to their dead and flood the altars with flowers. Among the most popular religious celebrations is the devotion to the Señor de los Milagros de Buga and the celebrations during Holy Week, when the streets are flooded with parishioners who accompany the processions that commemorate the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.