Museo del Carnaval de Barranquilla

Explore the rich history and cultural significance of Barranquilla’s carnival through interactive exhibits and displays at this dedicated museum.

Planning your visit

The Barranquilla Carnival is the second-largest in the world after Rio, UNESCO-listed as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and it runs for four days before Ash Wednesday with a scale and specificity that surprises people expecting a smaller Rio.

The museum covers its constituent traditions: the danza del garabato, the congo, the cumbia and mapale, the marimonda mask with its trunk and enormous ears — a character invented to mock the elite — the letanias of satirical verse, and the elaborate costume-making that occupies the city for months beforehand.

Displays are interactive, with music, film and costume, and the museum explains how African, Indigenous and Spanish elements combined on Colombia's Caribbean coast to produce something distinct from carnival anywhere else.

Barrio Abajo, the neighbourhood around it, is where much of the carnival is made.

Bookable options include tours combining the museum with Barrio Abajo. Current availability is shown below.