Neiva Bambuco Festival

The Festival Folclorico y Reinado Nacional del Bambuco is held in Neiva around the feast of San Juan and San Pedro at the end of June, and its centre is a dance: the sanjuanero huilense, a courtship dance with a fixed sequence of figures - the invitation, the pursuit, the ochos, the arrodillada, the salida - performed by couples in specific dress, the woman's skirt embroidered and wide, and judged competitively by region. The bambuco itself is an Andean form in a distinctive compound metre. Rafts and floats go on the Magdalena, which runs through Neiva, and the surrounding Huila towns hold their own celebrations in the same period. Heat in Neiva at that time of year is severe.

What you actually see

• The sanjuanero huilense danced competitively - a fixed sequence of figures.
• Embroidered festival dress - specific to the region and the dance.
• Rafts and floats on the Magdalena - which runs through the city.
• Celebrations across the Huila towns - in the same late-June window.

When to go

Late June, around San Juan and San Pedro. Several days.

Honest expectations

Neiva in June is extremely hot. Accommodation fills for the festival. Events are spread across the city and the region. Outside the festival the city has limited draw for visitors.

Nearby

San Agustin is south; the Tatacoa desert is north.