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The Callao Carnival A Burst of Gold, Rhythm, and Tradition

The Cultural Heartbeat of Bolívar State

In the mining heart of Venezuela, where gold dictates the pulse of the land, an annual celebration arises that transcends simple festivity: The Callao Carnival.

This is not merely a costume party; it is a living chronicle of resistance, cultural fusion, and joy that has echoed through Bolívar State for over a century. Declared a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016, this festival is the result of a fascinating blend of West Indian, African, and European cultures.

El Carnaval de El Callao de Venezuela, Patrimonio Inmaterial de la Humanidad

A Journey to the Roots: The Origins of Calypso

The history of this carnival is intrinsically linked to the 19th-century gold rush. Immigrants from the British and French West Indies (Trinidad, Grenada, Saint Lucia) brought with them their languages (patois), their cuisine, and, above all, their music: calypso.

Unlike Trinidadian calypso, Callao Calypso developed its own distinct identity. It is sung in both English and Spanish, accompanied by the bumbac drum, the rallo (metal scraper), the bell, and the Venezuelan cuatro, creating a contagious rhythm that narrates the hardships and hopes of the miners of that era.

Iconic Characters: Guardians of Heritage

El Carnaval del Callao. Un Estallido de Oro, Ritmo y Tradición

What makes the Callao Carnival unique is its colorful and unchanging hierarchy of characters, each carrying deep significance:

The Madamas: They are the central figures and pillars of the tradition. They represent the matriarchs of the West Indies, dressed in regal, brightly colored gowns, headscarves (turbans), and abundant jewelry. The figure of Isidora Agnes, the legendary “Negra Isidora,” is remembered as the great defender of this culture.
The Dancing Devils: Dressed in red and black, they wear impressive masks with multiple horns. Their original role was to clear the path for the parade and maintain order with their whips, symbolizing the protection of the festivities.
The Mediopintas: Characters who roam the streets smeared in a mixture of charcoal and molasses. With humor, they threaten to “paint” passersby unless they are given a coin (a medio).
The Miners: Clad in helmets and carrying tools, they pay homage to the region’s primary economic activity and the workers who founded the town.

More Than a Party: An Identity

The Callao Carnival is a prime example of cultural resilience. During the festivities, social barriers dissolve under the sound of the bumbac. Families prepare all year to sew costumes and rehearse songs, passing this legacy from generation to generation.

Visiting El Callao during this time is to immerse oneself in a whirlwind of energy, history, and hospitality, where every parade tells a story and every beat celebrates freedom.

Isidora Agnes: The Eternal Queen Who Turned Calypso into World Heritage.

To speak of Isidora Agnes, universally known as “La Negra Isidora,” is not just to remember a figure from the past; it is to invoke the very soul of the El Callao Carnival. She was the vital force who rescued, protected, and championed this tradition until it reached its current status as a UNESCO World Heritage treasure.

Isidora Agnes La Reina del Calipso de El Calla

A Leader Forged in El Callao

Born on August 17, 1923, Isidora was much more than a festive figure. With a firm character and clear convictions, she stood out as a social leader and labor unionist. Her role as the town’s first telephone operator was no coincidence; this position allowed her to be the town’s communication hub, hearing firsthand the needs and struggles of her people.

With deep West Indian roots (the daughter of immigrants from Saint Lucia and Martinique), Isidora grew up with calypso in her blood, leading her to fiercely defend her identity at a time when the tradition was beginning to fade.

Rescuing a Fading Tradition

In the mid-20th century, the El Callao Carnival was facing an identity crisis and losing ground to outside influences. Determined not to let her heritage die, Isidora launched a cultural crusade:

Institutionalization: In 1954, she founded the “Friends of Calypso Association,” giving the festival a formal structure.
Discipline and Aesthetics: She organized the parades under strict standards of authenticity, demanding rigor in costume making and respect for traditional music.
National Exposure: She took calypso beyond the borders of Bolívar State. Thanks to her, Caracas and the rest of Venezuela discovered the thundering bumbac and the patois choruses.

The “Madama” Par Excellence

While the carnival features many “Madamas,” Isidora became the ultimate icon. She didn’t just wear the dress; she personified the elegance, respect, and stately joy of the figure. Her presence in the streets dictated the rhythm of the entire festival.

Beyond the Dance: Her Social Legacy

“La Negra” Isidora’s commitment didn’t end when the drums were put away. She was a tireless advocate for El Callao. It is said she never hesitated to travel to the Miraflores Palace to demand improvements from the nation’s presidents, achieving milestones such as the installation of the sewage system and the construction of the local hospital.

Facts That Immortalize Her Legend

The Carnival Anthem: The famous song “Isidora, Isidora, Isidora Callao Calipso Queen,” composed by her close friend Lulú Basanta, is considered the unofficial anthem of the festivities today.
A Poetic Farewell: She passed away on March 5, 1986. Ironically, it was Ash Wednesday—the day the carnival ends. She was laid to rest with state honors and, as per her final wish, to the rhythm of calypso.
A Date of Honor: In commemoration of her birth, every August 17th is celebrated as Municipal Calypso Day in El Callao.

Also Read: Samba el baile que despierta el Carnaval en Brasil

Buika. The Multicultural Sensation

European Union

“It takes a lot of guts to expose your true self to others, and acclaimed singer, songwriter, poet, composer and music producer, Buika (pronounced BWEE-ka), does that every night she goes on stage. As plain as the tattoos on her skin, Buika bears her soul to her fans across the world, which she affectionately calls her “tribe.””

This summer, Buika continues her journey of storytelling across Europe and South America in support of her latest album, fittingly named Vivir Sin Miedo (To Live Without Fear). Her eighth album and one with the most English lyrics, Vivir Sin Miedo, co-produced by Grammy Award-winning Swedish producer, Martin Terefe (Mary J. Blige, Mutya Buena, Coldplay) features Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, German neo-soul artist Meshell Ndegeocello, and Spanish underground flamenco legend Potito.

Born María Concepción Balboa Buika in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Buika grew up immersed in Spanish culture with her African-born parents. Surrounded by multiple cultures throughout her life, Buika had a variety of musical influences, from jazz and flamenco to pop, soul and African polyrhythm. This eclectic upbringing shaped Buika’s ability to make music without limitations. During her 15-year recording career, her albums flow seamlessly between pop, jazz, soul, reggae, afro beat, R&B and flamenco. Equally diverse are her collaborators, which include Pat Metheny, Anoushka Shankar, Chick Corea, Niño Josele, Bebo and Chucho Valdés, Seal and Nelly Furtado.

“Filmmaker and longtime fan, Pedro Almodóvar, remarked about Buika, ‘Seeing her draw from such different genres…mix them all together with such grace and spontaneity, one cannot help but think that there is a brighter future as long as one can witness the boundless evolution of this infinite performer.'”

A brighter future did arrive for Buika with each new album. Her 2006 album, Mi Niña Lola (My Little Girl Lola), won Buika high praise from the US media, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Miami Herald and NPR. She received two Latin Grammys, one for her 2009 album, El Ultimo Trago (The Last Drink) and for her 2013 album, La Noche Más Larga (The Longest Night), which also won a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz album.

Other Latin Grammy nominations included Best Album and Best Production for Niña de Fuego (Girl of Fire, special 2-CD Edition, which included her first collection of poems – 2008), Record of the Year for her albums, Se Me Hizo Facil (2010) and La Nave del Olvido (2013) as well as the new Record of the Year nomination for Vivir sin Miedo for the song “Si volveré” (2016)

Buika knows no boundaries when it comes to language or geography. She has collaborated with musicians and singers in Spanish, Catalan, English, French, Portuguese, Iranian and Armenian. Her touring has spanned the globe, covering Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean Islands, Asia, Africa and the US.

A great music ambassador, she reaches any small or large crowd..i.e performed at the US Embassy in Madrid, Spain, on a great 4th of July or a year ago at the Spanish Embassy in DC, for a larger audiences at different music festivals, such as “La Notte della Taranta” Italy over or “Jazz al parque” Bogotá just a month ago.

She has no barriers in terms of artistic expression and rejects any kind of self-limitation, a business owner, singer / songwriter, producer and poet, whom on her time off immerses herself in the world of photography, some of her best portraits and self-portraits can be seen on any of her books, Niña de fuego (Girl of fire) “special edition” and -A los que amaron a mujeres difíciles y acabaron por soltarse (To those who loved difficult women and ended up letting go)

For Buika, her music is more than a career. She says, “I am music (…)!”

ISM / January 2026










“We are the True Latin music world network”

The Cajón throughout history

The main artists who put on a show always get the lead on stage, but nothing much is being said about the instruments accompanying them, which are a fundamental part of music as we know and enjoy it. One of these is the cajón, which has a most interesting and a little bit controversial origin, so there are certain considerations to express this regard.

This is the cajón — This is how the cajón looks today

What is the cajón?

The cajón, also known as the Paruvian cajón or flamenco cajón, is a percussion instrument consisting of a wooden box on which the musician sits and taps with his fingers and palms to produce the desired sounds, whether bass or treble. On certain occasions, it is used as a substitute for the drum kit and has gained popularity in jazz, flamenco, and some Latin genres.

One reason it is so popular is because of its versatility, transportability, and ease to be played, even if the musician does not have much experience. Therefore, many prefer it to the drum kit, which is bigger and more cumbersome in certain cases.

Origins of the cajón

What is known about the origin of the cajón is that by the end of Spanish colonization, African slaves bound for America were not allowed to use their drums because the Catholic Church saw them as sinful and pagan tools. Not to mention that these prisoners also used these drums to communicate with each other, which is why the Spanish nicknamed them “talking drums.”

This led to the aforementioned instruments and several of their musicians being burned. Not to mention that slavers wanted to ban black songs that sent messages about slavery through their melodies.

By the early 1800s, there was absolutely no record that the drum had existed in what we now know as Peru, and any viceregal document mentioning it disappeared. However, there is evidence of the existence of the cajón from 1840, and it is believed that the first to use it were Afro-Peruvians.

fiesta de amancaes with the cajón — Painting by the German Painter Mauricio Rugendas on the occasion of the “Fiesta de Amancaes”

Afro-Peruvians encompass a collection of African ethnic groups who, unable to express themselves through music as they did before, had no choice but to find other instruments with which they could do so. They then saw wooden crates used to transport goods as a way to do percussion and thus continue to practice their sacred rites and play their music.

Initially, the cajones were used to play coastal and traditional dances to central and north Peru, which gradually popularized them. They also began to be used to play the “Fiesta de Amancaes,” which is a Limean festival held during the time of the Viceroyalty. This event usually brought together horse breeders, artisans, and bohemian musicians from the north and center of the country.

The arrival of the cajón in Spain

Many years later, specifically the year 1977, the cajón arrived in Europe. It was Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist Paco de Lucía who discovered the instrument during a tour of Latin America when he attended a reception hosted by the Spanish ambassador at the time. On that occasion, Paco heard Brazilian musician Rubem Dantas play it during a show by singer-songwriter Chabuca Granda, and he instantly realized that those sounds combined very well with flamenco percussion, which was always done with the palms, although it was not as consistent and precise as required. The cajón achieved this without a hitch.

It is for this that Paco decided to take the cajón to his country and only added some inner strings to adapt it and tinge its sounds, thus becoming one of the most important elements of a flamenco show today. Both Paco and Rubem decided to release it at an open-air concert at the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid of the Casa de Campo, and the Peruvian instrument was a resounding success, marking the beginning of its addition to flamenco guitarists’ shows.

At the time, Paco said that this contribution to flamenco culture in his country made him very proud and with good reason, as it was a great revolution that continues to bear fruit.

The cajón today

Today, the flamenco cajón has three screws that allow the musician to adjust the tone and a system of strings that gives the Peruvian version a different resonance and offers a range of many different sounds in which the musician’s body plays a very important role. The Peruvian version remains the most traditional of all because it gets no strings and its sounds are deeper, while the Spanish version incorporates strings or bourdons in order to make more tearing and vibrant sounds.

There are also more modern versions that include the use of drumsticks and pedals to expand their sound range a lot further.

Toña La Negra The Unequaled Velvet Voice of Tropical Song

On November 19, 1982, in Mexico City, Antonia del Carmen Peregrino Álvarez, better known as “Toña La

Toña la Negra, passed away. She was a prominent Mexican singer and actress of African descent, famous for her interpretations of boleros and tropical songs by the composer Agustín Lara, who considered her “the greatest female singer of all time” due to her “highly personal style,” “the power of her expression, and the velvet of her privileged throat.”

Toña La Negra The Unequaled Velvet Voice of Tropical Song

Antonia Peregrino was born in the city of Veracruz, in the La Huaca neighborhood, on November 2, 1912.

Her father, Don Timoteo Peregrino Reyes, played the guitar and worked as a freight opener for the crates arriving at the port; he was also one of the founders of the Veracruz Port Commercial Loaders and Openers Guild.

Her mother, Doña Daría Álvarez Campos, sang at family gatherings.

Her paternal grandfather, Don Severo Peregrino, was Haitian and had emigrated to Mexico in the 19th century.

By 1927, she had married Guillermo Cházaro Ahumada, who took her to Mexico City with their first child, who was only forty days old.

On July 16, 1929, she debuted at the cabaret El Retiro. While performing there, where she was known as La Peregrina, she met Don Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta. It was Azcárraga, along with Enrique Contel, who christened her “Toña La Negra.”

On November 19, 1982, in Mexico City, Antonia del Carmen Peregrino Álvarez, better known as “Toña La Negra”, passed away.

She began to gain recognition with her interpretation of the song “Enamorada” (In Love) by Agustín Lara. Lara also produced tracks for her such as “Lamento Jarocho,” “Veracruz,” “Noche Criolla” (Creole Night), “Oración Caribe” (Caribbean Prayer), “Palmera” (Palm Tree), “La Clave Azul” (The Blue Key), and “La Cumbancha.” They presented these together in a musical revue at the Teatro Esperanza in December 1932, achieving such success that they had to extend their performances for a long time.

Her voice tone was rather deep, with a velvety and rounded sound, and impeccable vocal techniquecharacteristics that became her interpretive signature.

Azcárraga added her to the cast of the XEW radio station, where she sometimes performed accompanied by Lara and other times by the Alfredo Girón orchestra.

Shortly thereafter, her spectacular performances began at the Teatro Politeama, across from Las Vizcaínas and next to San Juan de Letrán street.

Her recordings for the RCA Victor label constitute one of the most precious musical legacies in the history of the bolero.

One of the first records she cut for this label contained the song «El Cacahuatero» (The Peanut Vendor); this recording dates back to the 1930s. For RCA Victor, she recorded several long-play albums, including Caleidoscopio musical con Toña la Negra (Musical Kaleidoscope with Toña la Negra), Noche Criolla, vol. II, and La Sensación Jarocha, vol. III (The Jarocha Sensation, vol. III).

In the mid-sixties, she signed an exclusive contract with Discos Orfeón, where she recorded the last albums of her career.

“Este amor salvaje” (This Wild Love), “Por qué negar” (Why Deny It), “Obsesión,” “Mentiras tuyas” (Your Lies), “Y sin embargo te quiero” (And Yet I Love You), “Noche criolla,” “Pesar” (Grief), “Vereda tropical” (Tropical Path), “Cada noche un amor” (A Love Every Night), “Angelitos negros” (Little Black Angels), “Lágrimas de sangre” (Tears of Blood), “Estás equivocado” (You Are Wrong), “De mujer a mujer” (From Woman to Woman), “Como golondrinas” (Like Swallows), “Diez años” (Ten Years), and “Cenizas” (Ashes) are some of her successful titles recorded on over 75 LP records, some of them for the Peerless label. Already famous for many years, she recorded two songs with the legendary Sonora Matancera in 1974.

In her final years, due to some health issues, she gradually withdrew from the stage and recording.

Toña La Negra always maintained a very reserved personal life. With her first husband, the musician Guillermo Cházaro Ahumada, she had three children: Ramón (b. 1932), Guillermo (b. 1933), and Ernesto (1935–1979). Toña and Cházaro Ahumada separated in 1945.

Later, in 1955, she remarried the Veracruz-born bassist Víctor Ruiz Pazos, known as “Vitillo.” This marriage lasted until 1963. In an interview, Ruiz Pazos spoke about Toña’s artistic qualities:

Her commitment, her feeling when she sang, her style, the way she did it, how she expressed things musically; I have lived a long time, I have heard many fabulous singers, but none of them come close to Doña Toña.

The German filmmaker Christian Baudissin made a documentary about Toña La Negra for television in 1993, featuring interviews with her ex-husband, the musician Vitillo (Víctor Ruiz Pazos), and other artists who knew her during her lifetime.

Collaborators:

Los Mejores Salseros del Mundo

Dj. Augusto Felibertt

Also Read: Santa La Salsera and Diva of Mexico with her unique voice and style will continue to conquer us all