2026 National Carnival Parade fills the Santo Domingo boardwalk with color, music, and joy

The event, dedicated to the province of Puerto Plata, featured the participation of comparsas from Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Ghana Santo Domingo.– The 2026 National Carnival Parade once again filled with color, music and the joy characteristic of the Dominican people the most multitudinous popular festival in the country, organized by the Ministry of Culture. Led by Minister Roberto Ángel Salcedo, the traditional parade, whose edition this year was dedicated to the province of Puerto Plata, brought together about 180 troupes from all the provinces of the country and the National District, with the participation of more than 9,000 members including dancers, musicians, artists and artisans. With a prominent international component, the celebration also featured the participation of delegations from Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, and Puerto Rico, whose troupes contributed thematic diversity and strengthened cultural ties with these nations. The event began with the arrival of the kings of the 2026 National Carnival Parade: photographer Mariano Hernández, recognized as one of the leading visual documentarians of Dominican folklore, and communicator Zoila Luna, a prominent figure in national television and radio. Both of them toured the Santo Domingo boardwalk aboard a spectacular red convertible Chevrolet Impala, starting an afternoon in which thousands of people gathered along the parade route to enjoy this great celebration of Dominican culture and traditions.

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Amidst the public's enthusiasm, the comparsas and traditional characters from different parts of the country displayed a vibrant mosaic of creativity, music, and color. Devils, lechones, robalagallina, and multiple figures from the carnival imagination paraded with colorful costumes, masks, and choreographies that reflect the richness and diversity of Dominican folklore. The presence of foreign delegations broadened the cultural scope of the parade and strengthened its projection as a meeting space between carnival traditions from different latitudes. The representation of Ghana, which was attended by her royal majesty Nana Ama Amissah III, supreme queen mother of the Kingdom of Mankessim, offered a sample of its masquerade and "fancy dress" tradition, combining processional music, festive songs and repertoires of community and ancestral roots. Its staging underscored the historical links between the Ghanaian and Dominican carnivals, united by their African roots, their masked characters and their street energy. For its part, the Colombian delegation presented a sample of the Carnival of Blacks and Whites, a celebration recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage of humanity, which integrates indigenous, Andean and Hispanic traditions. From Rio de Janeiro, the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro participated, the entity responsible for organizing the parades in the emblematic sambadrome, providing a reference for one of the carnival manifestations with the greatest international projection. For their part, the Puerto Rico delegation presented the tradition of the vejigantes from the Playa de Ponce neighborhood, emblematic characters characterized by their colorful masks and multiple horns, handcrafted.