Showers of cornstarch thrown1 by revellers flew in a warm wind of a Barranquilla2 Palm fronds nodded and waved in a gentle breeze

waved in a gentle breeze while thick layers of cornstarch

carnival night while Anibal’s3 music was heard in the distance. The party goers laughed enveloped a lively verbena street that vibrated and rumbled with heavily amplified
at each other’s powdered faces and drank greedily in anticipation of a night of partying music that came from colossal boxlike speakers called “Picós.” The fronds seemed to
and joy. be welcoming Domingo Mackenzie Montesi who was arguably the oldest and most
Just on a night like this a year ago, despite his age and against his doctor’s and popular verbena goer in Barranquilla. He mingled with the powdered-face revellers
father Dominiqui’s advice, Mingo4 was wildly dancing a Rasca Rasca 5
in a dim and embraced them as if they had always been his friends. Out of a shrouding cloud of
corner of a Verbena 6
on a carnival Saturday. In bed tonight, he struggled to get to cornstarch emerged Mingo’s friends, Manuelito Barrios, Lucho Francisco Ramos, and
sleep. It was the first carnival night he missed in seventy years and the music in the Roberto Ruiz whom on seeing him automatically poured a drink that he downed in one
distance was just too strong a pull for him to ignore. His wife Josefa, who without gulp. “Have another one, Viejo8 Mingo. You have to catch up with us,” slurred Roberto
saying a word about his tossing and turning, knew perfectly well the predicament he Ruiz who always ended up paying the booze bill for being the first to get drunk.
was going through. She blurted out, “Well, Mingo either you go get yourself into your At 11 pm, the night was in a state of tipsiness and dancing was pretty much in
costume and join the party or you will end up putting a bullet through your head. A progress at Among Palm Fronds9 , the verbena that gathered the most people. Back in
wake would be the last thing I would want, especially on a carnival night.” Josefa’s the same corner dancing a Rasca Rasca was Mingo again just as he had been the year
words were sweet music in Mingo’s ears. After hearing her well directed comments, he before; this time, however, his step was not as fast and brisk, yet all his enthusiasm and
went and got his costume out of the closet and inspected it carefully. Except for last disposition remained intact, to such an extent that he was willing to dance with all the
year’s lipstick that wouldn’t wash out, everything was fine with it. Once in his women in the place with the exception of Aidé because last year’s dance with her
Marimonda costume, Mingo was ready to leave, not without hearing his wife’s usual
7
caused him no small discomfort due to the huge belly button that poked out of through
prior warnings: “Promise me you won’t end up in Rafael’s house. Don’t embarrass me her blouse!
again”, I tell you! She still remembered the time she walked in on him and his buddies On Carnival Sunday, a bright moon shined high overhead providing a natural
while doing the feather dance stark naked. And the night she had to drag him out of source of illumination under which the city tirelessly carried on partying. In the
that house blind drunk in a woman’s dress with his head totally bald. All the verbenas, hundreds of “Picós” simultaneously vied with each other to offer an amazing
embarrassment in “Rafael’s fucking house” as she angrily referred to the place. “I can’t variety of music that blended in the air creating a confusing mixture of beats and
promise you anything,” Mingo bluntly replied. “I never decide where I end up. You rhythms. At twelve midnight, the music built up to a rousing climax. Mingo and his
end up where you end up. It’s carnival!” friends took the floor to the sound of Timbalero10 and made a dazzling solo display of
Salsa11 steps whose fancy footwork was hard for the foreigners in the place to follow.

1
In the end, it was Mingo who outlasted the others and danced the night away always
Cornstarch Throwing: A custom among people in carnival.
2
Barranquilla: A city on the Colombian Caribbean Coast. keeping his eyes closed in ecstasy.
3
Aníbal (Velásquez): A popular carnival Singer.
4
Mingo: Short for Domingo, a first name meaning “Sunday”. 8
5
Rasca rasca: An onomatopoeic sound produced by the “Guacharaca”, a scraping musical instrument played Viejo: Old (form of address among male friends)
9
in accordion songs. In rasca rasca songs couples dance fast and close. Among Palm Fronds: A popular verbena at certain location in the city.
6 10
Verbena: A popular carnival gathering where people dance and drink. Timbalero: A salsa classic.
7 11
Marimonda: A traditional costume in Barranquilla carnival (shown on front cover). Salsa: A Caribbean rhythm that is popular in many Latin American countries.
 At 2 am on carnival Monday, Mingo continued verbena hopping without a break. On Friday, the police had better luck and found Mingo’s body on a remote beach in
He had been to fifty-nine of them and had danced with eight hundred partners and lost Puerto Colombia15. He was in his Marimonda with a smile on his face. The costume
count of the number of bottles he had cracked open. His body was so heavily covered was all torn and smeared all over with white powder and lipstick. Authorities
in white carnival powder, that he could only be recognized by the redness of his determined Mingo had died the previous Tuesday at 6 pm and that chronic carnival
bloodshot eyes. exhaustion had been the cause of his death.
At 7 am on Ash Wednesday, a peal of bells rang out as people streamed out of the A verbena atmosphere pervaded outside “Calancala” cemetery with “picós”
local cathedral with ash crosses that father Dominiqui had placed on their foreheads. blasting out Mingo’s favorite songs like “El Muerto Borrachón” (The Dead Boozer)
As was her custom every morning, Josefa watered her Mafafa12 plant in her garden. and “Pura Paja!” (Sheer Bullshit!) providing the perfect backdrop against which
She waited impatiently for Mingo whom she hadn’t seen in over four days. “By this cornstarch-throwing crowds in carnival costumes drank and danced around, just as
time in past years, he had already been home sleeping off his hangover,” she Mingo would have wanted his funeral to be like. Yet all of the thousands of “widowed”
commented to her neighbor Petrona Martinez. “That son of a bitch seems to have gone dance partners couldn’t help shedding tears for the man they had had so much fun with
too far this year. He might as well have shot himself!” she went on with a feeling of and who was now gone. Others fought their tears back and comforted Josefa who, on
resentment. being refused to have her husband buried in her garden, decided to put up her own
At noon today, Mingo’s disappearance kept the town talking about where he might tombstone by the Mafafa plant for Mingo to see her water it, a scene that always
have ended up. The last time people saw him, he was in front of Accordion Nights13 pleased him to look at.
fighting a fierce cornstarch battle with a bunch of his friends among whom were Abel Holding tightly onto Mingo’s mended Marimonda costume, she approached his
Gonzalez Chavez and Marco T. Barros who affirmed they had seen him vanish in a tombstone, planted a kiss on it, and then went home after saying a short prayer. A few
cloud of white dust. Others saw him on Tuesday volunteering to be Joselito14 and being minutes later, the lively crowd of mourners left and the cemetery returned to its usual
turned down in the attempt. As it had been the year before, judges wanted a visibly tranquility. Suddenly, everything went still. The sky darkened and a steady light rain
virile “Jose”, a requirement Mingo had met with flying colors then; however, this year began to fall. The party was over.
loss of his virility was clearly evident. “How can things change in one year?” they Showers of cornstarch thrown by revellers flew in a warm wind of a Barranquilla
heard him moan. He was devastated that carnival ended that way for him. carnival night as the distinctive drum beats of Te Olvidé16 mixed in the air with
Exceptionally resilient, he quickly got over the unhappy experience and was seen trumpet blasts and accordion notes. This year, the music heard in the distance passed
involved in yet another cornstarch battle that he himself had begun. completely unnoticed in the huge home of the Mackenzies Valderramas where Josefa,
On Thursday, Mingo’s case still baffled the police and his disappearance remained all alone, slept soundly in a pitch dark bedroom. Toward midnight, the deadly silence
a mystery. Verbena goers thought that he couldn’t have taken so much partying and that reigned in the house was broken by sudden loud knocks on the door.
that he had been sucked into a whirlpool of cornstarch and rum.
15
Puerto Colombia: A town near Barranquilla.
12
Mafafa: A tropical plant whose leaves are elephant-ear shaped. 16
Te olvide: (I forgot you): The song considered to be the anthem of Barranquilla carnival composed by
13 Antonio Maria Peñaloza, one of Colombia’s greatest musicians.
Accordion Nights: A popular verbena
14
Joselito or Jose: A character that stands for carnival partying. He dies and is buried on carnival Tuesday
signaling the end of the celebration. On this day, “mourners” carry dummies representing “Joselito” and cry Marcelino Torrecilla N
out: “Oh, Jose why did you have to die”. Live “Joselitos” are also popular.
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