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Carlos Parra Rios

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"Farewell to Joselito Carnaval": the most awaited death in Barranquilla

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Clients: Rolling Stone, EL PAÍS , United Nations Development Program, Financial Times, VICE

School: VII Academy, Alliance Française Institución Universitaria de Barranquilla

During the Carnival of Barranqu... and the period of Lent begins.

1 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

During the Carnival of Barranquilla, on the fourth day of the festivities, a tradition called “El Entierro de Joselito” (Joselito's Burial) takes place, where men dress up as women and mourn the death of Joselito. on the fourth day of the festivities, where men dress up as women and mourn the death of Joselito, as a way of satirizing the Catholic custom of Ash Wednesday, when human mortality is remembered and the period of Lent begins.

The presence of coffins has an ...season and the rebirth of life.

2 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

The presence of coffins has an anthropological significance related to death and life. In many cultures, death is not seen as the absolute end of life, but as a transition to another state. In the case of Joselito, his death is considered to represent the end of the carnival, but it also marks the beginning of a new season and the rebirth of life.

The tradition of “Las...mmitment of men. in their role.

3 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

The tradition of “Las Viudas”, where men disguise themselves as women and pretend to be pregnant, can be understood as a form of mockery and ridicule of the figure of the man who abandons a pregnant woman, and to exalt the responsibility and commitment of men. in their role.

The funeral parade has been a w...ys of Carnival in Barranquilla.

4 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

The funeral parade has been a way to pay homage to the death of Joselito and the festive spirit as a way for the living to relate to death and their own mortality after the four days of Carnival in Barranquilla.

By mourning Joselito's ...rom the constraints of society.

5 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

By mourning Joselito's death, they celebrate his life and pay tribute to him for bringing joy and celebration during Carnival. In addition, the reversal of gender roles and the parody of death are also ways of subverting established social and religious norms and temporarily freeing themselves from the constraints of society.

The bodies that personify Josel...ea of continuity despite death.

6 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

The bodies that personify Joselito become a vehicle of expression and transmission of resistance and tradition because they represent the idea of continuity despite death.

Men dressed as widows mourn the...ranquilla Carnival in Colombia.

7 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

Men dressed as widows mourn the death of Joselito during the parade of the Burial of Joselito, a popular tradition of the Barranquilla Carnival in Colombia.

The widow costume itself implie...fferent from one's own.

8 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

The widow costume itself implies a transformation of the body, since elements such as makeup, wigs, clothing and accessories are used to create an image different from one's own.

The burial of Joselito on the l...ion with the beginning of Lent.

9 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

The burial of Joselito on the last day of Carnival in Barranquilla is a symbolic act that seeks to free the spirit of the bad energies and sins that have been committed during the celebration of Carnival representing the end of the party and the beginning of a time of reflection with the beginning of Lent.

The clowns playing the trumpets...m of life and daily activities.

10 of 10 © 2024 Carlos Parra Rios

The clowns playing the trumpets in Joselito's funeral parade may symbolize the passage from the period of celebration and joy of Carnival to the post-post-summer period in which the city returns to its normal rhythm of life and daily activities.

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Public Project

"Farewell to Joselito Carnaval": the most awaited death in Barranquilla

Copyright Carlos Parra Rios 2024

Date of Work Feb 2021 - Ongoing

Updated Mar 2022

Location Barranquilla, Colombia

Topics Culture, Documentary, Gender, Photography

There may be no end to a story better known by a people. Before the carnival revelry begins, the mourning is already prepared every Tuesday as an epilogue of the Carnival of Barranquilla. A burial that walks the city. It is a spectacle that transforms the male and the female. The hairy breasts are stylized or burst. The beards become bitumen and the skirts pass from command. The cry of joy is transformed into pain. Death takes over the city and the colorfulness that explodes during three days of Carnival becomes a monochromatic black. Litanies and coffins crash on the last day of Carnival. A way of manifesting catharsis and reflection of finitude. And until that moment, Barranquilla and its people do not stop celebrating life and the love of Carnival. Joselito dies, but lives in each of the inhabitants of La Arenosa.

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