Culture of Valledupar

At the same time, practices have absorbed aspects of Amerindian and African cultures, as Christianity is syncretic. The holy week, in April, is celebrated in much the same way as during colonial times; with fasting, church attendance and processions to venerate Jesus and the Santo Eccehomo. Corpus Christi is celebrated in July. In religious practices, Christians represent the majority of the population. There are a minority of Muslims.

Traditional oral storytelling has helped preserve stories,myths and legends, such as the popular "leyend of the guatapuri mermaid", or the "silborcito" (the nazarenian without a head), "the Lerta" ("The duel between the devil and Francisco 'the man'", "the monitos", "The llorona (the crying woman)", "la madre monte (mother nature)" "la mano pelua (the hairy hand)", and "el cuco", among other stories that are still alive. Storytellers are very common in the region, as well as traditional comedians. These storytellers, usually travelling farmers selling their cattle around the region, revived the already traditional Spanish juglares (minstrels). From village to village, they sang the news and stories from other towns, usually playing an instrument. This is how the Vallenato music was believed to be born.

Dances play a very important role in the cultural identity of this society, coming from the three different cultures that founded it, among this dances are: "Tambora La Cumana" "El Pilon Vallenato" "chicote kankuamo" and "Los Diablos danzantes de Corpus Christi" (The Corpus Christi Dancing Devils). The latter originated in a colonial theater play, developed to represent the devil and good, in an effort to convert the Amerindians to Christianity. Valledupar also celebrates a carnival in February, smaller but similar toBarranquilla's Carnival