The Broncos of La Vega Carnival

To talk about of The Broncos is to talk about a 26-year tradition synonymous with fun, festivities, carnival and costumes.

The group was founded in 1981 when, by chance, five young people had each gone separately to the tailor shop of Ángel Abreu to have him make their costume. The tailor, realizing how similar their color combinations were, decided to get all five people together and suggested to them that they dress up the same way, with the same masks and footwear. They accepted his idea and their five-person costume made a great impression in town. The boys’ fun loving attitudes and wild ways made the townspeople call them “broncos” and they were one of the first troupes, or “comparas,” to be formed for carnival. In the years that followed, many other young folks got together to form larger troupes.

The Broncos’ tradition is so strong that after its formation, many others took the same initiative and thus were born: The Fieras, Cavernarios, Panitas, Hormigas and many more.

As the leading carnival troupe, the Broncos saw what an incredible boom their example had provoked. They decided to formalize their organization and unite all the groups and the diablos cojuelos (limping devils). Their idea matured and they ended up inviting three other groups to join them in forming the La Vega Carnival Union (UCAVE).

At this point The Broncos do not just see themselves as a carnival troupe but rather as an institution with statutes wherein they carry out social, operational, medical, etc. tasks in the poor neighborhoods every year. All of their membership is made up of young professionals who offer their own expertise and knowledge to the institution.

Bolstering their institutional reputation, The Broncos music themes are the mostly widely recorded of all. Their musicians include Rikarena, Peña Suazo, Parada Joven, La Calle, and Miguel Vázquez, the son of Milly Quezada.

Early Broncos Achievements.

• We were the first to implement the commercial sale of merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, stickers and other objects for promotional purposes, parties, festival and all carnival-related activity.
• We’ve created The Broncos’ Cave which is an urban space for the troupe, the town and for people to visit, all with the idea of appreciating and preparing for carnival. The space also has a large assembly area dedicated to accommodate VIPs, music and the Broncos huge following, making the Broncos’ Cave an obligatory stop for everyone going to Carnival in the Dominican Republic.

 Broncos Activities:

• Little Carnival, which takes place on the third Saturday of carnival. It is a carnival gathering for children in which the Broncos invite them to come and join the fun with clowns, mimes, inflatable toys, animation and lots more.
• February 27: This is the traditional in which the “diablos” or devils hit the streets with a euphoric display and parade, leaving behind their masks and allowing their joyful faces to be seen.

Costumes and the Cave:

Our characteristic colors are yellow and red. The design of our mask and costume is made by the famous Dominican designer and tailor Luís Rivas. Melvin Marte, distinguished artesan makes our masks.

The costumes were made in the traditional way with the same design but in 3 different colors: blue, green and fucsia. With this idea in mind, we seek to introduce new tones and colors into the carnival repertory.

For the occasion we have decorated our cave like a huge circus, coordinating the colors with our costumes.

 Do you want to be a Bronco?

Age is not a problem...anyone can be a Bronco. From generation to generation, Bronco members play an active role in the group. In the group’s history, three women have dressed up in costumes, the last one joined the troupe four years ago.

The only requirement to joining the troupe is that you must want to be a BRONCO. This implies making a firm commitment to always attend carnival and all related events and activities done by the group, to show your interest by going out with the devils and wave our banner when we do our parade and to always come in costume to the events. Once one had shown an intention become an integral part of this grand tradition, they can then become a member of The Broncos.

 By: Elka Jiménez Garrido