November 11th Festivities of Cartagena, intangible national heritage

Resolution DM 0668 of 2026, signed on November 6, 2026, by Minister Paola Holguín, included the manifestation “Independence Festivities of November 11 of Cartagena de Indias” in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (LRPCI) at the national level and adopted its Special Safeguarding Plan (PES). The administrative act was published in the Official Gazette 53,686 on November 10, 2026, and is effective from that date, with no further appeals permitted.

The concept that opened the door

The decision is based on numeral 2 of article 11-1 of Law 397 of 1997, added by article 8 of Law 1185 of 2008, and Decree 1080 of 2015, which requires two concepts from the National Council of Cultural Heritage. The first was issued unanimously in the session of July 27, 2017, according to Minutes number 3, and enabled the formulation of the Plan; the second occurred in the third ordinary session on July 17, 2026, recorded in Minutes number 3 of 2026, after analyzing the technical document filed on May 23, 2026, under number MC24358E2026.

The applicants were the Mayor’s Office of Cartagena de Indias, through the Institute of Heritage and Culture of Cartagena de Indias (IPCC), and the Committee for the Revitalization of the Independence Festivities. The nomination reflects several decades of work:

• Formation of neighborhood councils and carnivals since the 1980s.
• Rescue Project and Revitalization Process of the Festivities, initiated in 2003.
• Forums and seminars in 2003 and 2004 with the participation of nearly 400 actors.
• Inclusion initiative in the LRPCI led since 2009 by the IPCC and the Revitalization Committee.
• Support from more than 500 people for the restart of the process in 2014.
• Social Pact for the Independence Festivities, signed in November 2016 by 140 individuals and entities.

Seven lines and governance with the bearer community

The PES is structured into seven strategic lines: management and articulation; organizational, community, and institutional strengthening; communication and dissemination; research and documentation; transmission and education; capacity building in intangible cultural heritage; and cultural entrepreneurship. Each line includes concrete measures, including the public policy for the Festivities, the update of the Pact for the Festivities, a district directory of festive actors and processes, the city’s festive calendar, the Chair of History and Independence Festivities, artistic training seedbeds, and the recovery of the Cartagena float technique.

Governance rests with the PES Management Committee, composed of:

• The director of the IPCC, who serves as the technical secretariat.
• A representative of the Committee for the Revitalization of the Independence Festivities.
• A representative of the District Council of Cultural Heritage.
• A representative from each technical table: Cultural System; Academic; Parades, Carnivals, Neighborhood, Corregimiento, and Insular Councils and Bandoes; Community Action Boards, Community Councils, and Indigenous Councils; and Trade Guilds and Entrepreneurs.

The Committee will be renewed every two years and will adopt its own regulations. Article 5 requires the applicants, with the participation of the Steering Committee, to develop a complementary document within twelve months of publication that defines the operation of the Committee and the technical tables, the implementation scheme for the lines, a short- and medium-term action plan with verifiable goals and indicators, and the mechanism for annual progress reports to the National Council of Cultural Heritage.

The risks that the Plan seeks to conjure

The technical document identifies threats pointed out by the tradition bearers themselves: loss of traditions and knowledge, with dances at risk of disappearing such as the diablo de espejos and the danza del gallinazo; weakening of Cartagena’s history and identity; security and coexistence problems; and the commercialization and spectacularization of the festivities. The bearer community includes councils, carnivals and neighborhood bandos, comparsas, musical, dance, and theater groups, float makers, artisans, costume designers, makeup artists, traditional cooks, teachers, and students, in addition to the Grand Lanceros and Lanceras.

The financial scheme is based on public resources at the district level, the concurrence of national resources, and alliances with the private sector and the cultural economy. The resolution specifies that this estimate is indicative and does not commit resources from the General National Budget. Any modification to the Plan will require a prior favorable opinion from the National Council of Cultural Heritage and must be adopted through an administrative act, and the monitoring of the implementation will be reported annually.

A recognition with its own clock

The November 11th Festivities commemorate the declaration of absolute independence of Cartagena from the Spanish Crown in 1811 and have been celebrated with patriotic spirit since 1812, making them the country’s first festival of republican origin. This recognition comes with concrete obligations for the Mayor’s Office of Cartagena de Indias, the IPCC, and the bearer organizations: the national listing opens access to Ministry programs and calls, but also ties safeguarding to goals, annual reports, and a complementary document that must be ready before November 2027. For the people of Cartagena, the message is that the festival no longer depends solely on the calendar: it is now inscribed in the management instrument of the Nation’s cultural heritage.

Source: Official Gazette, 53,686 of November 10, 2026, Section I, page 1 (official reference: Resolution DM 0668 of 2026).