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Las Parrandas



The first Las Parrandas festival was held in Remedios in 1820, and since then it has been celebrated by eighteen communities in the center of Cuba, usually during the last months of the year.

The festival is a cultural competition between the two neighborhoods or parties, with ‘spies’ trying to spoil the surprise created by the opposing neighborhood on the night of the festival. They work all year long to prepare for the Festivity of Las Parrandas competition.

The celebration involves a wide variety of expressions, including replicas of monuments and floats, dances, fireworks, and many other decorations. For example, the creation of lamps, lanterns, banners, and emblems allegoric to their neighborhoods.

Everyone in the eighteen communities participates in the festivities, regardless of their social class, gender, age, religion, profession, or background. Lights, colors, and shapes represent the various stories as the groups recreate or re-enact them.

The competition begins on the evening of December 24th and both neighborhoods reveal their work on Remedios main square. Both neighborhoods claim victory after the parade and fiesta until dawn. In Remedios, residents save their energy for 364 days, and they spend it all on this one night!

The appeal of Parrandas reflects the organic culture of each town: each festival represented its own identity. They have as many floats as possible for the hosting city because the mayor even participates, and they have to run miles and miles of city streets.

In the past, Parrandas was often organized and run by townspeople, with wealthy funders or local councils providing economic and logistical support. Following the Cuban Revolution in the 1950s, municipalities began to take on more responsibility for organizing the festival, taking away some of the local uniqueness. Despite this, the wild exuberance of festival-goers continues to inspire impressive displays each year.

Since traditional knowledge and skills related to the element are constantly combined with modern elements, Las Parrandas is both traditional and contemporary simultaneously. Modern Parrandas come with a wide variety of vendors and activities. Snacks like candy, sandwiches, pizza, traditional rice with pork and yucca, handmade crafts, as well as Ferris wheels, carousels, and dragon boats are all available all over the market.


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