After months of debate, we’ve decided to go for it. Assuming that the rain stops, on Sunday morning we’ll wake up at the crack of dawn, down a pitcher of green smoothies, and head for Rio. I’m so excited/nervous/excited that I can hardly stand myself. Vamos dançar!!!
The only debate about attending has been for financial reasons. It can cost anywhere from R$700 to $2,000 (about US$1250) to buy a costume and dance in the parade, and that just isn’t in the budget. It’s the price we pay to keep the Brazilian Farmville dream alive! When I tell you how we’re planning to get in, you may think I’m “louca,” but hopefully after reading this post you’ll be excited enough not to care! You know I love bringing you along on all of our adventures (good and bad), so today’s post is going to give you a quick primer on Carnival in Rio, along with our plan for being a part of it:
Brief History
Carnival in Rio (spelled “Carnaval” in Portuguese, and how I’ll spell it from now on) is the world’s biggest Carnaval celebration, occurring 40 days before Easter. The tradition was brought to Brazil by the Portuguese in 1850, and initially it was just a masquerade ball for aristocrats. Before the Brazilian government declared Carnaval a cultural holiday, the uninvited population would riot in the streets. Eventually, Carnaval came to include the African and Amerindian music and dance, and slaves were freed for the three days during the festivities to participate. Over time, the music and tradition evolved into the beautiful Carnaval parade that is so famous throughout the world.
Bigger Might Just Be Better
We just read in the paper that this year’s Carnaval is the biggest ever, with a million visitors expected to attend. That doesn’t include Cariocas (Rio’s residents), so this will be intense! The festivities officially start Saturday (today) and end on Fat Tuesday. We’re leaving the house at five tomorrow morning because yesterday there was a 29 km. traffic jam heading into Rio. (Are we crazy?!) Look for me on TV…I’ll be the one wearing the tiara.
It’s Not What You Think
When I’ve talked to my friends in the US about Carnaval, the first thing they ask me is, “Are you SURE you want to be in the middle all that mess?” I always wondered the same thing, until Helena explained to me that Carnaval in Rio is actually very organized. It’s not about beads and flashing! Sure, there are the seedier aspects—drunk people peeing in the streets, for example—but the main parade is an exhibition of precision and beauty. As you’ll read in the section on Escolas de Samba, this is something that people have been practicing for all year.
Street Parades
Beginning on Thursday, the entire city becomes one big party. Street parades, concerts, and parties are happening all over the city, up and down the beach, in restaurants and bars. As I showed you on New Year’s Eve, almost every neighborhood in Rio has its own Banda de Rua, or street band. There are more than 300 throughout the city, so from January until the end of Carnaval, impromptu street parades pop up every weekend. The city has been going like this for more than 2 months now!
Escolas de Samba
Escolas de Samba, or “Samba Schools” are very different from the street parades, and they’re what makes Carnaval in Rio so famous. A Samba School is a social club consisting of members of a particular community, more popularly referred to as “favelas,” or slums. Every school has a “padroeiro,” or patron, who is a famous musician who serves as the father or mother of that school. (Singer and musician Beth Carvalho, padroeira of Mangueira’s school, is one of my favorites). Every year, each school develops a theme and writes the music and lyrics for an annual theme song, typically with the guidance of some of Brazil’s most famous and beloved composers.
The parades you’ve seen on TV are made up of Escolas de Samba, so the beautiful dancing girls and people in costumes are members of the community, and they’re joined by anyone who has bought a costume in order to participate in the parade. The costumes are carefully planned and painstakingly sewn six months in advance, enormous and elaborate floats are constructed, and 500 percussionists practice to play the songs with passion and precision. Believe it or not, each Escolas de Samba will have an average of 7,000 people singing and dancing in unison. SEVEN THOUSAND! Imagine the sound.
The reason for all of this work is that the parade is more than a party—it’s a competition. It’s strictly judged for theme, music, dancing, and the quality of the performance. The winning Escolas de Samba receives an enormous cash prize, which is an enormous honor and a huge support to the winning communities.
Participating in Carnaval
To participate in Carnaval, people can buy tickets to sit in stadium seating along the side of the parade (about R$ 100), “frisas,” which are seats at street level (about R$ 700 per seat), or box seats, which are closed, glassed in areas typically are reserved for celebrities and people with the means to be there.
The Escolas de Samba’s songs are usually released to the public around the first of the year so that people can begin learning the lyrics. The songs are usually released to the public around the first of the year so that people can begin learning the lyrics. Like with soccer, Cariocas are typically very loyal to one Escola de Samba, so they’re fitted for a costume and learn the lyrics to the theme song well in advance. We’re not those people.
Our Plan
At midnight on Sunday (which is really Monday morning), we’re going to show up to see if we can buy last minute tickets and a t-shirt, which will grant us the ability to participate in the parade. Most of our friends are loyal to Mangueira and Beija Flor (Hummingbird), so we’re crossing our fingers that there will be remaining tickets for those groups. If we get in, we’ll run to line up and dance with our escola.
All of you planners out there are probably developing hives just thinking about it, but I swear, I’m feeling like the element of surprise is half of the fun. We just looked in the paper and saw that Mangueira is scheduled to parade at from 2:25 to 3:50 a.m. on Monday morning, and Beija Flor is on from 2:25 to 3:50 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Yikes! To prepare, I’m eating well, doing a ton of yoga, taking naps, and practicing the lyrics for both Escolas de Samba, just to be safe!
Here’s a peek at this year’s theme song from Mangueira:
Wish us “boa sorte,” and get ready for footage of life inside Carnaval when I post next week!
