Why did UNESCO recognise the Carnaval de Barranquilla?

What UNESCO recognised, and the motto

Barranquilla sits at the mouth of the Magdalena, and for centuries the music of the Andes, the indigenous peoples and the Africans came down the river and mixed here. UNESCO proclaimed the carnival in 2003 and inscribed it on the Representative List in 2008, describing a port where European, African and indigenous cultures converged, a festival that satirises political life, and a risk: that growing commercialisation threatens its traditional expressions.

The city's own motto is on every wall: Quien lo vive es quien lo goza. No description will do; you have to be there.

• UNESCO inscribed the Carnival of Barranquilla on the Representative List in 2008; the list it belongs to was originally proclaimed in 2003, the year the piece gives.
• UNESCO describes Barranquilla as a trading centre where European, African and indigenous peoples converged, a carnival that satirises politics, and growing commercialisation as a threat to its traditional expressions.
• Barranquilla calls its carnival the second biggest in the world after Rio de Janeiro.
• Shakira was born in Barranquilla and danced in the carnival as a child.

Por el río llegaron durante siglos las músicas de los Andes, de los pueblos indígenas y de los africanos, y aquí se mezclaron.

Down the river, for centuries, came the music of the Andes, of the indigenous peoples and of the Africans, and here they mixed.

El lema del carnaval está en todas las paredes de la ciudad: "Quien lo vive es quien lo goza".

The carnival's motto is on every wall in the city: "Who lives it is who enjoys it".