The Carnaval de Barranquilla is one of the most important cultural events in Latin America. In 2003, UNESCO declared it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and in 2008 it was included on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Based on an anthropological standpoint, this article explores, describes and discuss in a critical way the process of patrimonialization that is gradually transforming the Carnaval as a commodity fetichism, a dynamic of capitalization offering an economic value to a popular culture expression. In a context of social violence, economic inequalities and political corruption, the process of heritagization transformed a popular celebration in a complex industry and a discutable cultural enterprise