Mourning takes over the Barranquilla Carnival. Francisca Gutiérrez de Gómez, better known as ‘Pachita’, founder of the Cumbiamberitos de San José, died this Saturday in New York City, United States, where she had resided for several years.
As EL HERALDO learned, the researcher and creator of the Carnival, died after several health problems and the last time she visited the city was precisely for the carnivals, although precisely due to her condition, she had to return to her city of residence.
The Cumbiamberitos of San José are one of those children’s groups loved by the people of Barranquilla, they have become the banner of the Carnival of 44. With more than 40 uninterrupted years in the party, they now fear its disappearance.
The history of this children’s cumbiamba, flagship of the 44 Carnival, goes back much further, to 1982, the year in which Francisca Gutiérrez de Gómez decided to take a group of children from the San José neighborhood, where she lived, to the streets to dance. cumbia
They started dancing on Vía 40, during which time they won several Golden Congos, until in 2000 they decided to participate in the Carnival on 44, where they have also received awards.
Matilde Posada de Fernández, who is the current director of the Cumbiamberitos of San José, highlighted that “Pachita was a very happy woman, a lover of culture, a lover of our traditions, very active. She always had in her veins that of dance, of dance. When she came, she had a lot of fun.”
Likewise, Posada explained to this publishing house that she was “a very happy, very dynamic woman, until she went out. But yes, we will always remember it with that spirit of loving our traditions. She has left us a very beautiful, very beautiful legacy, a childhood that we hope to continue with.”
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