Law 2638 declares the Gran Parada de Palmar de Varela as intangible heritage

The Congress of Colombia declared the Great Regional Parade of Palmar de Varela, in the department of Atlántico, as Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation, through Law 2638 of 2026. The regulation was published in the Official Gazette No. 53,645 on October 1, 2026, in the Public Power – Legislative Branch section. The law orders the national Government to support the promotion, dissemination, and financing of the event and to advise its nomination to the representative list of intangible cultural heritage.

Law 2638 of 2026 was sanctioned on October 1, 2026, by President Abelardo de la Espriella and the Minister of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge, Paola Andrea Holguín Moreno. The text also bears the signatures of the President of the Senate, Honorio Miguel Henríquez Pinedo; the Secretary General of the Senate, Diego Alejandro González Gónzalez; the President of the House of Representatives, Nicolás Antonio Barguil Cubillos; and the Secretary General of the House, Miguel Ángel Vásquez Sánchez.

Article 2 defines the Great Regional Parade of Palmar de Varela as the cultural event celebrated annually in that municipality of Atlántico as part of the Carnival of Atlántico. The same provision defines intangible cultural heritage as the set of manifestations, uses, representations, expressions, knowledge, and cultural spaces that communities recognize as an integral part of their identity and traditions.

Scope of the declaration

Article 1 declares the Great Regional Parade of Palmar de Varela (Atlántico) as Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation. Article 3 places this safeguard under the responsibility of the national Government, through the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge, charging it with supporting the promotion, dissemination, encouragement, conservation, protection, financing, and development of the event’s folkloric and artistic values.

The same regulation orders the provision of advice for the event’s nomination to the representative list of intangible cultural heritage in the corresponding spheres and the promotion of the implementation of the Special Safeguarding Plan adopted at the departmental level, in compliance with Law 1185 of 2008, Decree number 1080 of 2015, and Decree number 2358 of 2019.

In summary, the law consists of six articles:

• Article 1: declares the Gran Parada Regional de Palmar de Varela (Atlántico) as Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation.
• Article 2: defines the event and intangible cultural heritage.
• Article 3: entrusts the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge with the promotion, safeguarding, and nomination of the event.
• Article 4: authorizes allocations in the General National Budget.
• Article 5: establishes the reallocation of resources and the availability for each fiscal year.
• Article 6: establishes its validity from the date of its promulgation.

Financing without expanding the budget

Article 4 authorizes the national Government to include the necessary budgetary allocations in the General National Budget, in accordance with articles 288, 334, 341, 345, 356, and 357 of the Political Constitution and the competencies established in Law 715 of 2001.

Article 5 establishes the mechanism for incorporation: the authorizations shall be applied, first, through the reallocation of resources currently available in each executing body, without this implying an increase in the budget, and, second, according to the availabilities generated in each fiscal year.

Entry into force

Article 6 establishes that the law governs from its promulgation, that is, from October 1, 2026, the date of the edition of the Official Gazette in which it appears published.

With the declaration, the Gran Parada Regional de Palmar de Varela is recognized as a manifestation of the country’s intangible heritage and gains state support for its promotion and for its eventual inclusion in heritage lists, a step that reinforces the projection of the Carnaval del Atlántico and the traditions of the department.

Source: Official Gazette, No. 53,645 of October 1, 2026, Public Power – Legislative Branch, p. 1 (official reference: Law 2638 of 2026).