Cali Fair (Spanish: La Feria de Cali) is a cultural event held in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

from December 25 to December 30. It is a celebration of the region's cultural identity, famous for the Salsa marathon, horse riding parades and dance parties. The Fair has been celebrated since 1957. Tourism around The Fair is a main driver of the city's economy during the end of the year. It is also known as the "

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

fair" (referring to a crop vital to the local economy) and "Feria de la salsa" (

Salsa music Salsa music is a style of Latin American music, combining elements of Cuban and Puerto Rican influences. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin. Most ...

fair).

History

On 7 August 1956, a huge explosion in Cali destroyed most of the city's infrastructure and many people died, leaving the city in an economic recession. The next year, the government coordinated a fair as an opportunity to celebrate the overcome of this tragedy and revitalize the economy. The first fair lasted 40 days and was a success. Many people were able to sell handmade goods throughout the celebration of the events. The fair continued to grow over the years, and the city's economy was boosted around the time of the fair. Over time, it became the most important cultural and economic event of the year. In the 1980s, salsa singers and

dancers Dance is an art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements or ...

became a popular part of the fair. In 2020, the Fair was held virtually due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 2021 saw the introduction of Fiesta de Mi Pueblo, a parade celebrating the 42 municipalities of Valle del Cuaca.

Events

The Fair is opened by a cabalgata (parade of horseback riders) and the Salsódromo (also called the Salsa Marathon), a parade of salsa musicians and dancers. In 2023, the Salsódromo included 1,400 dancers, who paraded down Avenida Roosevelt, one of the main roads of the city. Other events include tascas (international food street), salsa concerts, bullfights (which have attracted criticism and protests), parades, athletic activities/competitions and cultural exhibitions. At times the Fair has included

Vallenato Vallenato () is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. ''Vallenato'' literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the ''Sierra Nevada de Santa Mar ...

and Merengue groups from Colombia and surrounding Caribbean countries, and

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

schools from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil. The Cali Viejo Carnival is held on December 28, the fourth day of the Fair. The event celebrates the cultural traditions and history of the region, and is actually older than the Fair itself, dating back to the early 1910s.

References

External links

Official website
1957 establishments in Colombia December observances Fairs in Colombia Festivals established in 1957 Parades in Colombia {{festival-stub Valle del Cauca Department