Cali Viejo Carnival

Predating the Feria de Cali itself by 35 years, the Carnaval de Cali Viejo began in 1922 out of the informal Fiestas de la Plaza celebrations and marked its centenary in December 2022. Held as part of the December fair, it uses costumed comparsas and historical floats explicitly to recall figures and events from Cali's civic development, distinct from the fair's salsa-centred Salsodromo.

Cali's Carnaval de Cali Viejo began in 1922, when the city's governing authorities responded to the informal artistic displays already emerging from the Fiestas de la Plaza celebrations by organising them into a more structured event, bringing together theatrical comparsas, collective and individual costumes, and queen-bearing floats sponsored by the social clubs of the era.