Carnaval de Camaguey

Camaguey's San Juan Camagueyano carnival, documented since around 1725 to 1728 as a combination of Corpus Christi and Epiphany religious observance with a practical cattle-ranchers' sales gathering, now runs each June 24 to 29 with comparsas, congas and floats, its comparsa tradition itself introduced from Havana's carnival, in a city whose broader identity symbol, the terracotta tinajon water jar, dates to around 1600.

Camagueyanos have run their San Juan Camagueyano carnival since roughly 1725 to 1728, a period when the celebration combined the religious feasts of Corpus Christi and Epiphany, complete with solemn processions and collective dances performed by enslaved Black residents, with a practical commercial rhythm tied to cattle ranchers who used the June gathering as an opportunity to bring fattened cattle into the city for annual sales.