FESTIVALS

CARNAVAL DE NEGROS Y BLANCOS:

This, the main festival of the department, was declared National Cultural Heritage by the Congress of the Republic of Colombia, and Oral and Intangible Heritage by UNESCO.

It takes place every year during the first week of January and the idea of the festival is to highlight the autochthonous features and characteristics of the local and regional culture through popular dances, parades of floats and street parties brimming with color and gaiety.

FIESTA DE LA VIRGEN EN LA LAGUNA DE LA COCHA:

 Celebrated in the village of El Encano, 20 Km from Pasto, this festival pays homage to the Virgen de Lourdes. The celebrations take place at night with a parade of decorated boats just off the isle of La Carota, in theLaguna de La Cocha.

FIESTA DE LAS GUAGUAS DE PAN:

In Nariño children are referred to asguaguas. This ancestral festival is celebrated in the countryside on the summer solstice the 29^th of June in all the villages in the south of the region: Jongovito, Cabrera, Buesaquillo, Genoy and  Obonuco. The tradition entails making figures of guaguas out of bread.