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Why Colombia might be the world’s best language classroom
Imagine you are standing on a street in Barranquilla in February. The music is deafening — a wall of cumbia, mapalé and porro — and the air smells of sawdust, paint and street food. Around you, people in extraordinary costumes are dancing past on floats. You are surrounded by roughly 800,000 visitors from at least fifteen different countries. And you have no idea what half of them are saying, but you understand every single thing that is happening.
That is the magic of a festival. And Colombia, a country that has transformed its remarkable cultural heritage into one of the most vibrant festival calendars on earth, is a near-perfect place to learn the vocabulary that goes with it.
Whether you are a B2 learner planning a trip, a teacher looking for authentic materials, or simply someone who wants to speak with more colour and confidence about events and traditions, this lesson gives you the core vocabulary — words, collocations, word families and real examples — all grounded in Colombian celebrations you can actually look up and verify.
Core vocabulary: festivals and traditions
At B2 level, you already know basic words like party, holiday and celebration. Now it is time to add the vocabulary that lets you talk about events with real nuance and accuracy. Below are twelve essential words, each shown with its part of speech, a clear definition and a Colombian example.
Key vocabulary at a glance
| Word | Type | Meaning | Quick example |
|---|---|---|---|
| parade | noun | a line of people or vehicles moving through the streets as part of a celebration | The opening parade of the Feria de Cali draws thousands of spectators. |
| procession | noun | a formal, slow-moving group of people, often for a ceremony or religious event | The Easter processions in Popayán are four centuries old. |
| float | noun | a large decorated platform on wheels, used in parades to carry performers | Each float in the Barranquilla carnival represents a different region of Colombia. |
| ceremony | noun | a formal public or religious event held for a special occasion | The opening ceremony of the Carnaval begins with the Battle of Flowers. |
| ritual | noun | a series of actions performed in a fixed order, especially as part of a religious or traditional ceremony | Indigenous communities preserve rituals that form part of the carnival’s roots. |
| commemorate | verb | to mark an important event or person with a ceremony or celebration | The Feria de Cali was founded to commemorate the city’s anniversary. |
| heritage | noun | the traditions, achievements and beliefs passed down through generations within a culture | UNESCO recognised the Carnaval as part of Colombia’s intangible cultural heritage. |
| festivity / festivities | noun | joyful celebrations or the activities and events that make up a celebration | The festivities last five days and include concerts, dance competitions and street food. |
| spectator | noun | a person who watches an event but does not take part in it | Hundreds of thousands of spectators line the route of the Grand Parade. |
| folklore | noun | the traditional stories, music, dance and customs of a community, passed on orally | Colombian folklore is at the heart of the Barranquilla carnival’s identity. |
| pageant | noun | a public entertainment in which people wear elaborate costumes and perform scenes | The children’s costume pageant at the Feria de Cali is a highlight for families. |
| revelry | noun (formal/literary) | noisy and lively celebrations | By midnight, the revelry in the Plaza de Bolívar was almost impossible to describe. |
Word families worth knowing
At B2, knowing a word is not enough — you need its whole family. Here are the key ones for this topic:
- celebrate (v) → celebration (n) → celebratory (adj): “They threw a celebratory dinner after the carnival victory.”
- commemorate (v) → commemoration (n) → commemorative (adj): “The city issued a commemorative stamp for the carnival’s 20th anniversary.”
- participate (v) → participation (n) → participant (n): “Over 3,000 participants registered for the salsa parade.”
- tradition (n) → traditional (adj) → traditionally (adv): “Traditionally, the Barranquilla carnival opens with the Battle of Flowers.”
High-frequency collocations
- hold / host / organise a festival or ceremony (NOT do a festival)
- attend / take part in / participate in a tradition or celebration
- mark the occasion (We gathered to mark the occasion with music.)
- a centuries-old tradition (very common adjective for old customs)
- pass down from generation to generation (These dances have been passed down for centuries.)
- take to the streets (to describe large crowds celebrating outside)
- a vibrant / festive atmosphere (strong collocations for describing celebrations)
Colombia in focus: a nation that knows how to celebrate
Colombia does not just have festivals — it has an entire culture built around them. According to the Colombian Ministry of Culture, the country holds more than 700 festivals every year, covering everything from flower exhibitions and poetry recitals to elaborate carnival celebrations that blend African, indigenous and Spanish heritage.
The most internationally famous is the Carnaval de Barranquilla, held every year in February, just before Lent. In 2003, UNESCO proclaimed it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and it was officially inscribed on the Representative List in 2008. The carnival draws visitors from around the world: in 2025, the festivities attracted 800,000 tourists from 15 different countries. The event officially opens with the Batalla de Flores (Battle of Flowers), a spectacular parade in which floats decorated with thousands of flowers move through the streets while performers in elaborate costumes dance to cumbia rhythms. For locals, the most popular saying captures the spirit perfectly: “El que lo vive, es quien lo goza” — those who live it are those who truly enjoy it.
In the south-west of Colombia, the city of Popayán holds one of the most solemn and impressive traditions in Latin America: Semana Santa (Holy Week). The religious processions in Popayán have been taking place for more than 400 years, and UNESCO has also recognised their unique cultural significance. Unlike Barranquilla’s exuberant street revelry, Popayán’s Holy Week is a ceremony of quiet dignity — thousands of participants dressed in white carry the sacred images of saints through candlelit streets, while spectators line the route in silence.
Meanwhile, in Cali — Colombia’s third-largest city and its undisputed salsa capital — the Feria de Cali transforms the city every December from the 25th to the 30th. Founded in 1957, the fair celebrates the city’s anniversary through music, dance, bullfighting and a legendary salsa parade called the Salsódromo. The Salsódromo is not simply a show: it is a pageant of athletic precision in which thousands of dancers compete for the title of the best salsa group in Colombia.
Together, these three festivals illustrate an important truth about Colombian culture: it holds joy and solemnity in equal measure, and it passes them both down, from generation to generation, with extraordinary care.
Common mistakes for Spanish speakers
Your Spanish will help you a great deal with this vocabulary — but it can also lead you off track. Here are the most frequent errors made by Spanish-speaking learners.
❌ “We assisted to the carnival last year.”
✅ “We attended the carnival last year.”
In Spanish, asistir a means to go to an event. In English, assist means to help someone. Use attend to say you went to a formal event, or simply went to for a more casual register.
❌ “They made a big party for the new year.”
✅ “They held / had / threw a big party for the new year.”
Spanish uses hacer una fiesta, so Spanish speakers often say make a party. In English the natural verbs are have a party (informal), throw a party (informal) or hold a celebration (more formal).
❌ “The dancers actuated brilliantly during the ceremony.”
✅ “The dancers performed brilliantly during the ceremony.”
Actuar in Spanish means to perform. In English, actuate is a technical word meaning to make a machine work. Always use perform for artists and take part or participate for participants more generally.
❌ “The Carnaval is a traditional very important for Colombia.”
✅ “The Carnaval is a very important tradition in Colombia.”
Tradicional is an adjective; its equivalent in English is traditional (adjective) or tradition (noun). Make sure you know which form fits the grammatical slot: “It is traditional” (adjective after verb) vs. “It is a tradition” (noun with article).
❌ “The festival commemorates the independence of Colombia in 1810.”
✅ “The festival commemorates Colombian independence, which was declared in 1810.”
The verb commemorate is correct here, but watch the prepositions. Say “independence of” when it follows a noun directly: “the independence of Colombia”. But when building a fuller clause, restructure: “the declaration of independence” or “Colombia’s independence”.
Example bank: vocabulary in action
All examples are set in a Colombian context. The target word or collocation appears in bold.
- Every February, the city of Barranquilla holds its world-famous carnival.
- The parade stretched for three kilometres through the centre of the city.
- Each float tells a story from Colombian folklore.
- The Holy Week procession in Popayán has been a centuries-old tradition since the colonial period.
- UNESCO inscribed the carnival on its list of intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
- Thousands of spectators lined the route to watch the salsa dancers go by.
- The city commemorates its foundation every year with a week of festivities.
- The opening ceremony brought together performers from more than twenty Colombian regions.
- These dances have been passed down from generation to generation for four hundred years.
- The revelry continued until sunrise, with cumbia music filling every street.
- Children participate in the pageant by wearing traditional regional costumes.
- There is a truly festive atmosphere in Cali during the last week of December.
- The ritual of throwing flowers from the floats is performed at the start of every carnival.
- She attended the Feria de Cali for the first time and was overwhelmed by the energy.
- The commemorative stamps sold at the post office feature images of the most famous floats.
- The mayor gave a short speech to mark the occasion of the carnival’s seventieth anniversary.
- The salsa parade is not a casual procession — it is a highly competitive pageant.
- More than three thousand dancers took part in the Salsódromo this year.
- When the music started, the whole crowd took to the streets in a spontaneous celebration.
- The tradition of making maracas by hand is kept alive by families in the Caribbean region.
Quick practice quiz
Test your knowledge of the vocabulary from this lesson. Choose the best answer or complete the sentence.
- The Carnaval de Barranquilla was recognised by UNESCO as an example of intangible cultural ___.
(a) parade (b) heritage (c) pageant - Complete the sentence: “Thousands of ___ lined the streets to watch the procession pass.”
(a) assistants (b) actuals (c) spectators - Which sentence is correct?
(a) “We assisted to the carnival.” (b) “We attended the carnival.” (c) “We made the carnival.” - What is the noun form of celebrate?
(a) celebratory (b) celebrant (c) celebration - Which collocation is natural in English?
(a) “do a festival” (b) “hold a festival” (c) “make a festival”
Answer key
- (b) heritage — UNESCO inscribed the carnival on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2008.
- (c) spectators — people who watch but do not take part.
- (b) “We attended the carnival.” — Attend is the correct English verb for going to an event.
- (c) celebration — Celebratory is an adjective; celebrant refers to a priest. The noun is celebration.
- (b) “hold a festival” — Hold, host and organise are the natural verbs.
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Related vocabulary: For more cultural vocabulary in English, see our art and culture vocabulary B2 guide with Mexico — masterpieces, curators, murals and more.