Try-out: Carnival

When I had to be in

Brazil

on march 6^th this year I didn’t think of it being Carnival time. So here I am celebrating my first Carnival and enjoying it.

The more important Carnival Parades are not, like in Europe, happening in the “common” streets but in a special Carnival street. There the Parade is held along a street with galleries for the public. Some of these streets are covered against rain. Ther is this saying …. “In Brazil it always rains on Carnival”….. and I can assure you it does!

The Parade consists of several groups from clubs called “Escolas the Samba”.

Everything happens in the late evening and night.

I was amazed to find out that there are rules for the Parade of the Escolas de Samba. There has to be a “couple” carrying the flag, ……

they need to have at least 10 “Baianas” (ladies from Bahia with wide skirts twirling around), …..

at the front there is a little group greeting the public. They are forbidden to dance Samba, so they perform some sort of ballet.

In Taubaté the wagons have to be pushed by manpower. Time for the presentation is restricted.

The performance is judged by at least two groups of judges placed at intervals along the street. Apart from the creative side one gets points for moving and singing. If you don’t obey the rules you loose points on that item.

The band is called “Batteria”. There is always a Queen of the Batteria. Master of the Batteria and singer of the Samba are very important and wanted functions. You can compare this to the status of a star football player.

The most amazing one for me was that “The King” has to weigh 120 kilo’s or more!! This King, the symbolic mayor during Carnival, with his Princesses watches the Parade and visits all the clubs and dances. This goes on for four days.

It is good to see that all sorts of people join: Not only slim beautiful girls and handsome young men, but also the more round and riper women and men, little children, even old ladies spinning around in their Baiana costumes.

In the little village of Quiririm the Carnival is very simple. No Escolas de Samba, but a street or a bar forming a “bloco”. It is more like a fair. One bloco per night drives through the village; no rules (and of course no jury).