Festivals and Annual Events

Caraqueños just need an excuse to start shaking all over! Partying, singing, dancing, and going wild to the beats of music serve as the Fountain of Eternal Youth for this nation. New Year’s Eve makes no exception. From late afternoon you can see people scurrying all around town, eager to close down their businesses, get together a group of friends, and head to the most happening places around town – either the beach, that is swarming with other like-minded partygoers, or a more private retreat in nightclubs across the city. As a centuries old tradition, people bring homemade cloth or rag dolls and burn them at the stake – this represents forgetting the hardships and problems borne the previous year and preparing for a fresh new start. As midnight draws in, people head to the central square. Here an intense display of fireworks follows, amidst excited squeals from the audience, to welcome the New Year as the clock strikes midnight.