San Pacho Festival

The Fiestas de San Pacho honour Saint Francis of Assisi and run from 20 September to 5 October in Quibdo, capital of Choco - a department that is overwhelmingly Afro-Colombian and among the poorest in the country. Twelve neighbourhoods each take a day: they build a large float, dress in costume, and parade with a chirimia brass band playing through the streets while the crowd dances behind in a moving mass. Religious ceremony and street celebration run in parallel throughout, and the festival is understood as an assertion of Afro-Colombian identity as much as a saint's day. UNESCO inscribed it in 2012. Quibdo has one of the highest rainfalls of any city on earth, so the parades happen in the wet.

What's there

• Twelve neighbourhoods, twelve days - each with its own float and band.
• Chirimia brass bands - leading the dancing through the streets.
• Religious and street celebration together - running in parallel.
• A UNESCO inscription - listed in 2012.

When to go

20 September to 5 October. Several days.

What to expect

Quibdo is among the wettest cities on earth - expect heavy rain during the parades. Accommodation is limited and fills. Choco has real poverty and limited infrastructure. Flying in is far easier than the road from Medellin.

Nearby

Nuqui and the Pacific coast are west; the Atrato river runs through the city.