Another Carnaval has passed

Hi all,

Yesterday was, officially anyway, the last day of Carnaval (Carnival in English). Hangovers and after-parties will continue through the weekend, when the best “schools” (parade clubs) will reprise their performances.

This year I missed Carnaval. I won’t be returning to Brazil for another 10 days or so. But I’m not crying. I’ve seen 3 Carnavals in Rio, plus 2 in Salvador – not to mention 2 trips to Mardi Gras, which is the same celebration in a different local. I found myself lacking the full Carnaval spirit last year. Rio during Carnaval is fun, but also very crowded, chaotic, expensive, and very, very noisy. Many Cariocas (residents of Rio) actually head out of town during the festivities.

Still, Carnaval is something you should see once in your life. And it’s not too early to start planning for next year. Flights and hotels sell out way in advance, so it’s wise to make plans early.

Rio is not the only city in Brazil which celebrates Carnaval, though Rio has almost become synonymous with Carnaval in the minds of many people. And many Brazilians as well as foreigners do travel to Rio to enjoy the Carioca brand of festivities. However, Salvador, in the state of Bahia, and the city of Olinda, in Pernambuco, also have large Carnaval celebrations.

Olinda has what most would consider a more traditional and more sedate Carnaval. I caught just the final day of festivities there several years ago, and found the street parades to be much less raucous than in either Rio or Salvador. There actually was a religious tone to the parades I saw.

Traditionally, Salvador was where you went if you wanted to participate in the Carnaval. There, specially outfitted trailer trucks called trios eletricos creep through the streets blasting back the hair of the pipoca (literally, “popcorn”), the crunched and jumping masses lining the parade routes. If you have the money, you can enter the cordon which precedes and follows a trio. You’ll be with more of an elite crowd. Also, the trios, in addition to being mobile stages with pop stars playing atop them, sell beer and are equipped with toilets – which alone probably makes the price of admission worthwhile.

Rio, by comparison, maintained a more traditional type of Carnaval, if not with the religious overtones of Olinda’s version. The samba schools always churn out some boring song, usually with a theme about nature, that is repeated ad nauseum along the parade routes. The parades judged the best parade in the Sambadromo. Incredible amounts of money are spent on floats and costumes, and schools practice for months in advance. It’s a big deal. So, Rio was the place to go to spectate, and Salvador was adjudged better for participating.

But, perhaps in an effort to compete with Salvador, Rio now has scores of street parties, called blocos, leading up to Carnaval. These blocos feature more popular music, also on trios (though I haven’t seen the cordons as in Salvador), and draw large and generally raucous crowds.

So Rio now has in effect two types of Carnival, where you can watch or participate. You can actually even buy your way into many samba schools. The costs are so great that many schools accept a certain number of outsiders who pay hefty prices to dance in the parades.

Anyway, Carnaval is something to see – if not necessarily every year.

You can learn more at: http://www.rio-carnival.net/rio_carnival/carnival_in_rio.php. If you are thinking of going, I’d also encourage you to pick up a copy of the guide Rio for Partiers, written by my friend Cristiano Nogueira. It’s available on Amazon.

And if any of you happen to have stories or photos from Carnaval, please share!

I’ll soon be back in Brasil (can’t wait to thaw out!) and will resume a more regular posting schedule.

 

John

Almost back in Brazil

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