Renata Faro
Staff Writer
Last year, I was taking the elevator at the building I live, as I always do. It stopped on the 2nd floor and as the door opened, it took me a moment to realise that the person stepping in was my neighbor. This serious man in his mid-sixties (and not a fan of my parties on the 3rd floor) opted to shun his usual grey suit, and instead had donned a blond wig, a huge bra, and a tiny green dress that accentuated his curves. The make-up on his face seemed to draw inspiration from the 1980’s, and everywhere else was glitter. Apparently, I shouldn’t have been shocked by this moody transvestite walking in, because after seeing me, he just nodded, said “good morning” and kept his usual frown. It was all very natural for him. This memory is pretty much what Carnaval means to me: a week when the rest of the year is forgotten and the usual social decorum is thrown out the window. Everything works under the “Carnaval Law”, therefore anything is possible.
Since the beginning of the 1990’s, Rio has been experiencing the return of what we call Carnaval de Rua, or ‘Street Carnaval’. It’s the Carnaval that happens on the streets – and it’s free for anyone who wants to be a part of it. The interesting thing though, is how it happens; during the whole celebration week and the weekends that precede it, the city is taken over by hundreds of bloc parties that appear on every single Rio neighbourhood. Some of them are small, being just for friends, family and neighbours, while others can have hundreds of thousands of participants. Some are very traditional, dating from as far back as the 1920’s, while others are only one or two years old. Yet, what they all have in common is the loud music coming from a Samba band (on foot or on top of huge vehicles) surrounded by people wearing costumes, dancing, drinking and generally having a good time. Anyone can apply to host an official bloc party that will have the City Hall’s approval to close up a street at some point during the holiday and last Carnaval, the official number of bloc parties on the streets was 542.
Before it’s recent revitalization, the street Carnaval had lost a lot of space to the big parades organized for television. That coincides with when the stereotyped version of Brazilian Carnaval was built outside of the country. What is happening now though, is that the traditional street party idea of Carnaval has been seized back by the younger generation, who have combined the old traditions with their modern day cultural sensibilities. The result is a crowded city, and an explosive week of freedom and reckless fun. Despite the hellish temperatures reaching as high as 45˚ C, the 2012 Carnaval in Rio registered a record-breaking 5 million party-goers. The previous year, Cordão do Bola Preta, one of the most traditional blocs, alone had over 2 million people following its relentless band. If you find it hard to picture that many people in one place, picture almost the entire population of Slovenia getting drunk and dancing samba.
It should be obvious then, that Carnaval is not for the weak willed. You have to be physically and mentally prepared for this intense party marathon. Each bloc party lasts around 3 hours, and the average expectation is to attend at least 2 or 3 per day. The celebrating starts in the morning and can last until 4 a.m. the following day. You have to plan for strategic breaks along the week to make it possible. The more methodical folião (person who attends Carnaval parties) tends to have elaborate schedules and timetables of the bloc parties carefully organized by day and priority. You are lucky if your friend is one of these people. But on the other hand, if there is one thing I love about Carnaval, is the spontaneity of it all. You never know how your day is going to end. There are those days when nothing works out: you lose your friends in the crowd, the sun is too strong, you arrive late at all the parties which causes a domino effect of, at which point it is better to call it a day and pray for the gods of Carnaval (we actually use that expression) to give you a blast the next time. Believe me, the gods of Carnaval can also be merciful. The following day you might be able to meet your friends on time, follow great blocs with great music one after the other, dance yourself to exhaustion and have such a great experience, that by the time it ends, you realize you’ve just had one of the best days of your life.
The traditional marching tunes are the root of Carnaval and are easy to learn. The words and beats are often repetitive and cyclical, which is helpful when dealing with an extremely large group that is supposed to be singing together. It’s like the encore of a concert, where the chorus lasts twenty minutes because the crowd won’t stop singing along. One of the more interesting ways Carnaval is changing, is that many blocs are taking other rhythms or contemporary songs and adapting them to the Samba beat and its characteristic African drums. There is a bloc called Bloco do Sargento Pimenta (Sgt. Pepper’s Bloc), which plays a huge set of Beatles songs in Samba style. It has become quite famous and had over 60 thousand followers this year. Bloco Cru (Crude Bloc) is another example, giving classic rock anthems by Queen, AC/DC, Rolling Stones and many others a new perspective with a mix of deep drums, tambourines, agogos, cuicas and other typical Samba instruments. Soul and Funk music, commercial Hip Hop hits, Country… It can all be remixed live for the benefit of the party.
The names of the blocs are also a part of the festivity. They tend to be very creative, usually with sarcastic wordplay and referring either to the area where it was created or to the group of people who created it. There is, for instance, Suvaco de Cristo (Christ’s Armpit), which was created in Jardim Botânico, a neighbourhood located under the hill that supports the worldwide famous statue of Christ holding his arms wide open. As for the Bloco das Carmelitas (Carmelites Bloc), legend has it that once, when the bloc party was passing in front of the Carmelites convent, one of the nuns jumped over the fence to loose herself in Samba. That is why, until today, most of the participants wear the Carmelite veil to keep the mischievous nun unidentified.
Street Carnaval reflects a lot of the culture of Rio. It mirrors the beach lifestyle of always gathering on the outside, and the diverse mix of people with different tastes and backgrounds sharing the same spaces. Despite the elements of contemporary culture involved and because it is a traditional party, Carnaval can also be very innocent. The lyrics for the marching tunes are old and simple, and every Brazilian knows them by heart. There is also a very mixed public: old, young, poor and rich; they are all at the same place, singing the same songs. It is a simple kind of joy and you might feel extremely happy just for being in the sun, with a great view, singing to old tunes while surrounded by people doing the same. Or maybe it’s just the beer talking.
Street Carnaval is one of the most effective ways to have fun. That is why I say: forget the big produced parades that basically run a whole economy around them. Real Carnaval is free. It is for everyone: the old, the young, and the moody neighbours. There is a song that says that Carnaval is the 8th world wonder and no one deserves to die without experiencing it once in their lives. It is a celebration of nothing and everything at the same time. It’s a week when nothing else matters, not even your terrible dance moves, because, as we say it here, “it all ends in Samba”
