" El Sanjuanero" is a traditional Colombian bambuco

Bambuco

Bambuco is a traditional music genre originated from Colombia. It has a beat structure similar to the European waltz or polska...

 song. Its music was written in 1936 by Anselmo Duran Plazas and its lyrics were written by Sofía Gaitán Yanguas. It was first performed on July 12,1936. It's one of Colombia's most recogniceable folkloric songs, and it is the anthem of the Festival Folclórico y Reinado Nacional del Bambuco

Festival Folclórico y Reinado Nacional del Bambuco

The Bambuco Pageant and Folkloric Festival is the largest and most important celebration in Huila Department and one of the most important celebrations in southern Colombia. It is celebrated annually in the city of Neiva during the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and attracts a considerable number...

.

Accompanying dance

The traditional Sanjuanero coreography was created by folklorist Inés García de Durán

Inés García de Durán

Inés García de Durán is a Colombian folklorist linked specially to the traditions of her native land, the Huila Department. She founded the Departmental Dance School and taught in the Departamental Music Conservatory. She is notable for having created the coreography for El Sanjuanero, Huila's most...

 in 1960 and consists of three basic steps (caminado, bambuqueado, and contradanza), eight basic figures and five or more adornment figures.

Basic steps

• El Caminado: in every step, the tiptoe touches the floor first.
• El Bambuqueado
• Los Tres Cuartos: walking on the tiptoes, the triple metre
  Triple metre
  Triple metre is a musical metre characterized by a primary division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 or 9 in the upper figure of the time signature, with 3/4, 3/2, and 3/8 being the most common examples...
  
   is marked.

Role in festivities

El Sanjuanero is commonly associated with Huila

Huila

Huila may refer to:* Huila Department, in Colombia* Atlético Huila a first division Association football team in Colombia.* Huíla Province, in Angola* Nevado del Huila, volcano in Colombia...

's Festival Folclórico y Reinado Nacional del Bambuco

Festival Folclórico y Reinado Nacional del Bambuco

The Bambuco Pageant and Folkloric Festival is the largest and most important celebration in Huila Department and one of the most important celebrations in southern Colombia. It is celebrated annually in the city of Neiva during the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul and attracts a considerable number...

 celebrated each year in Neiva

Neiva

Neiva is the Capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a population of about 378,857 inhabitants...

 during the feasts of Saint Peter

Saint Peter

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

 and Saint John

John the Apostle

John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...

. The Reinado Nacional del Bambuco is a contest similar to beauty pageants in which contestants, each representing a Colombian Department

Departments of Colombia

Colombia is an unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District . Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly , elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods...

, are judged on six parameters, one of which is performance of the Sanjuanero dance.