The town of Calarca in Colombia’s coffee region next week will kick off its National Coffee Festival, an annual celebration of the country’s iconic export product that has been held since 1960.
The festival was initially founded as a way to deal with the extreme violence that had taken hold of the region at the time.
Since 1983, the festival — like many in Colombia — has included a beauty pageant to establish the Queen of the Coffee Region. The queens take part in a parade on a float designed specifically for the event by artists from the region.
Although the pageant takes center-stage, a number of other performances will take place between June 24 and July 4.
In 2012, the festival featured live music, dance and art workshops and exhibitions as well as hand-made markets and plenty of coffee.
