Carnival
Carnival in Brazil
Brazil does Carnival (in Portuguese, Carnaval)-the annual four-day festival marking the arrival of Lent-like nowhere else. With parties all across the country-most famously in Rio de Janeiro-Brazil's version of Carnival is an epic celebration of the senses, and visitors are welcome to join the fun.
Just one of many magnificent floats in Rio de Janeiro's Carnival parade (flickr user Mark Scott Johnson)
Carnival usually falls toward the end of February, but note that the festivities vary from region to region. Double check the dates before you book your trip.
What is Carnival?
During Lent, which lasts 40 days and ends Easter Sunday, Roman Catholics are supposed to abstain from all pleasures of the flesh, including the consumption of meat. In fact, the word "carnival" comes from the Latin "carne vale"-to put away the flesh. Carnival adopted old pagan rites to become the final, extravagant party before the period of Lenten austerity.
Beautifully costumed and perfectly choreographed, the dancers in Rio's Carnival parades are a thrilling spectacle (flickr user Mark Scott Johnson)
Modern Brazilian Carnival finds its roots in Rio de Janeiro in 1723, when the first Carnival events took place. In the 1840s the city's bourgeoisie imported from Paris the practice of holding balls and masquerade parties. Originally mimicking the European form of the festival, over time Carnival absorbed influences from native Brazilian and African cultures.
Striking a regal pose, this lavishly costumed woman stands on one of the floats entering Rio's famed Sambadrome (flickr user Mark Scott Johnson)
The dancing and music you're most likely to see and hear in Rio are known together as samba. First introduced by African slaves, samba has become the national dance of Brazil, and it permeates every aspect of Carnival. In northeast Brazil, samba rhythms are joined by other African-inspired music, such as axé and afoxé.
Each region of Brazil celebrates Carnival in its own way. Below are some of Brazil's most famous Carnival events:
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
Each Carnival float presents a theme; this spectacular example has a Native American motif
Carnival in Rio is legendary. With parties held over a two week period, the city pulses with energy, color and sound. More than 300,000 foreign visitors, not to mention thousands of Brazilian revelers, flock to Rio every year for the festivities. Be sure to book ahead for flights and rooms!
Carnival consists of street parties, the parades in the Sambadrome and on Avenida Rio Branco, and numerous gala balls. Here's a closer look at your Carnival options in Rio:
Street Parties
In the late 19th century, the cordões (literally laces or strings in Portuguese) were introduced in Rio de Janeiro. The cordões were groups of people who marked Carnival by parading through the streets playing music and dancing. Today's equivalent of the cordões are known as blocos (blocks), smaller neighborhood parades with participants dressed in costumes, accompanied by musicians playing samba tunes.
Although this image was taken in the city of Salvador, you'll find the same kind of convivial crush on the streets of Rio during Carnival. Do watch out for pickpockets, however. (flickr user sameffron)
The blocos have become a big part of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival. Today there are more than 100 blocos, and more appear each year. You'll find these parades throughout Rio, including Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Lagoa, Jardim Botânico, and downtown. Spontaneous, exciting and free, blocos capture the spirit of Carnival and are a great way to get close to the action-or in the action. Participation is encouraged, no skills required.
The Parades in the Sambadrome and on Avenida Rio Branco
The parades of the samba schools (escolas de samba) have been an essential ingredient of Carnival in Rio since the 1930s. Competing against each other in the Sambadrome, a huge, purpose-built arena downtown, the schools parade for four nights, at the end of which a single samba school is declared the winner.
The Sambadrome seats 90,000 people, and during Carnival you'll be lucky to get a seat--book early! (flickr user Mark Scott Johnson)
Each school's presentation has a central theme, such as a historical event, a famous person or a native Brazilian legend, and the students write a samba song based on the theme. Samba schools work all year to create the floats, costumes and music and dance numbers which will set them apart from the competition.
Floats such as this one in Rio's Sambadrome can take all year to create
In addition to the Sambadrome spectacle, a slightly less prestigious samba parade occurs on Avenida Rio Branco. Unlike the event in the Sambadrome, this parade is free, but just as much fun. It's also a competition, so you can expect each school to try to win over the crowd, and the judges, with their extravagant floats and choreographed dancing.
Head to Avenue Rio Branco if you're on a budget but still interested in seeing great Carnival floats such as this imaginative confection (flickr user Mark Scott Johnson)
If the formal samba parades aren't for you, simply find a nearby bloco and enjoy the grassroots samba on display there. On the other hand, if you find yourself swept up by the excitement of the parades, it's possible for a person who is not a member of any samba school to buy a costume and join in. Not recommended for quiet, shy types, however!
Balls
Besides the magnificent Carnival parades, there are wonderful balls where you can dance the night away. Balls of every kind can be found in Rio, including gala balls, balls for singles, and gay balls. The gala balls-luxurious, black-tie events-draw local socialites, soccer players, models and international stars. If that's not your normal crowd, check with your hotel for a list of other, less pricey balls you may be interested in attending.
Carnival in Salvador
Salvador, besides being home to a massive Carnival party, is rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.
Carnival in Salvador reflects this region's history. Located in Bahia State on Brazil's northeast Atlantic coast, Salvador was the center of the Portuguese slave trade in Brazil. About 5 million West African slaves were brought into Salvador to work the lucrative sugar cane plantations.
Today, Salvador is about 80% Afro-Brazilian, and Carnival here is heavily influenced by African rhthyms such as axé, afoxé, and samba-reggae. Axé-an African word meaning "good vibrations," pronounced "aSHEH"-is an Afro-Brazilian pop music that exploded in popularity in the 1980s, while afoxé (pronounced "afoSHEH") is the music of the Candomblé religion, an Afro-Brazilian faith that finds its roots in Nigeria, Togo and Benin. Among the many blocos that participate in Carnival, the blocos afros-the African blocos-such as Ara Ketu, Olodum and Filhos de Gandhy are among the most famous.
Bands from the blocos perform on a truck called a trio-elétrico, equipped with a platform for the musicians and giant speakers. The name trio-elétrico comes from the fact that it was three men who originated the concept in 1949-the driver of a converted 1929 Ford and two musicians. The trios wend their way through the city following two circuits, or routes, named for those musicians-Osmar and Dodo. A third circuit, called Batatinha, stays close to the city center. Hordes of revelers swarm around the trios as they slowly make their way, singing and dancing.
A trio-elétrico delights thousands of partiers as it inches through the crowd (flickr user simonmcmanus)
Carnival in Pernambuco
The state of Pernambuco, northeast of Bahia State on the Atlantic coast, has its own distinctive Carnival in Recife, the capital, and in the nearby city of Olinda (which, like Salvador, is a World Heritage Site).
Recife boasts the largest single Carnival parade in the world, according to the the Guiness Book of World Records-the Galo da Madrugada (meaning "the early morning rooster"), in which more than 1.5 million revelers take part. Unlike Carnival in Salvador or Rio, Pernambuco's festivities do not include competitions among parade groups. Huge parades with elaborate floats and hundreds of dancers share the party with improvised neighborhood celebrations.
While samba dominates in Rio and axé and afoxé in Salvador, Recife's Carnival features several other dance rhythms, such as frevo, maracutu and caboclinho.
Frevo
The word frevo is said to come from frever, a variation on the Portuguese word ferver (to boil). Frevo dancers, called passistas, usually wear bright, shiny, multi-colored costumes and carry small umbrellas. The dancing itself features very high jumps, while frevo music--called frevo-de-rua, or frevo of the streets--is played at a fiery tempo with brass instruments such as trumpets, trombones, saxophones and tubas. To American ears, it often sounds like polka.
A frevo dancer making a high jump, a signature move of this dance
Maracatu nação (also known as maracatu de baque virado: "maracatu of the turned-around beat") is an Afro-Brazilian genre of music and dance associated with Pernambuco. Maracatu groups are referred to as nações, meaning "nations."
Maracatu nação originated in Brazil's slave community, when slaves would select their leaders, known as the Reis do Congo (Kings of Congo). Maracatu music was performed to accompany a symbolic coronation ceremony. Although a maracatu performance was mostly secular, traditional nações drew inspiration from Candomblé or Jurema, two Afro-Brazilian religions. With a drumming group of 80-100 drummers, a singer and chorus, and a coterie of dancers, maracatu ensured that the new rei and rainha (king and queen) were celebrated in lavish style.
A participant in maracatu rural, a variation of the maracatu music and dance popular among sugar cane workers
While Brazil outlawed slavery in 1888, the maracatu tradition lives on, and today you'll hear its rhythms throughout Pernambuco's Carnival.
Carnival in Minas Gerais
The state to the north of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais--"general mines," in English-was once one of the richest in Brazil, thanks to the presence of gold and diamonds in the region. Although agriculture and tourism have replaced mining as the main industry, cities such as Ouro Preto and Diamantina, World Heritage Sites full of splendid baroque homes and churches, preserve this area's former glory.
Ouro Preto has an exciting Carnival as well as a rich complement of historical sites to visit
For visitors who want to combine Carnival with a little historical tourism, Minas Gerais is definitely a must-see. Carnival in Minas Gerais is also a good choice for those who want a smaller, safer Carnival experience.
Carnival fills this old baroque square in Ouro Preto (flickr user Andrea Fregnani)
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Current Weather (Jan 06)
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Rio de Janeiro Cloudy, 70° F |
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Recife Partly Cloudy, 82° F |
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Salvador Partly Cloudy, 77° F |
| Source: Yahoo! Weather |