Cali Fair

Throughout the year you can observe the extrovert and playful ambience of Santiago de Cali, however the main ‘fiestas’ arrive in December when the city is overtaken by the biggest event of the year: the Cali Fair.

The Cali Fair is the most important cultural event in Cali, Colombia. It is a celebration of the region’s cultural identity, famous for the Salsa marathon, horse riding parades and dance parties.

The fair is also known as the ‘Feria de la Caña’ (the sugar cane fair) and ‘Feria de la Salsa’ (Salsa fair). People enjoy many activities like an opening ‘cabalgata’ (parade of horseback riders), carnival parades, tascas or restaurant stands, salsa concerts, bullfights, a beauty contest, athletic activities and competitions and cultural exhibitions.

Cali is considered by Colombians as the ‘World Capital of Salsa’, given the city’s infatuation with this type of Afro-Caribbean music, therefore Salsa music and dance are paramount to the Cali Fair; one of the most important events during the fair, is ‘El Festival de Orquestas’, where 20 to 30 of the best bands and Latin artists in the world, overall Salsa bands, play live one after the other in front of 30,000 people at the city’s stadium from 2pm to 3am.

There are free concerts in different areas of the city; and paying concerts every night during the Cali Fair in the biggest nightclubs of the city, it is common to see three or four top Salsa and Latin bands on the same night at the same venue, such as Gran Combo, Oscar D’Leon, Gilberto Santa Rosa, or Grupo Niche or Sonora Poncena. There are also a series of Salsa events with all the Salsa schools from the city. Every year the most popular and most requested song on the radio during the weeks prior to the Fair, is chosen as the ‘Song of the Cali Fair’, an important accolade for the winning Artist.

Thousands of tourists from all parts of Colombia and from abroad arrive to participate in these extraordinary celebrations. The Fair begins with a grand cavalcade, where fine trotting horses parade down city streets. The cavalcade is an appetizer for a multitude of popular fiestas in different parts of the city. Cali then becomes the world capital of salsa. The best national and international orchestras arrive at social clubs, parks and sports facilities to perform at crowded concerts. Many activities are free of charge.

The bank of the Cali River is the epicentre for the ‘fiestas’, with bars and taverns full of lights, music, gaiety and exquisite cuisine from several countries, where thousands of local inhabitants and visitors dance until dawn.

Carnival parades, beauty contests and sports events, such as the extraordinary Cali River Marathon, which attracts thousands of participants from all over the country and from abroad, add sparkle to the Fair.  There are also diverse activities for children.