As the time is approaching for the annual Carnival festival in Brazil, I thought that speaking about it now would be great. I touched on it a little bit in my previous posts, but I wanted to dive a little deeper into its history and some of its traditions.
Carnival is a huge festival that is usually held on the Friday before ash Wednesday, and goes on until Tuesday, the day before ash Wednesday. Despite what it looks like, the event is actually largely related to Catholicism as that is a main part of Brazilian culture. The event conveniently lands during the time of the year which is wamfrest in Brazil as our winter months are their summer months so temperatures are hot and people are ready to party. The main event is held in Rio de Janerio but there are smaller ones in locations such as Sao Paulo as well. The event has been pushed back this year due to covid restrictions and is set to happen on the 22 of April, and the people of Brazil are nothing but excited. The festival is full of huge floats, lots of samba (which was once called Brazil’s national dance), loud music, and women dancing across the streets. The streets are always packed during this time of year as this event attracts millions of tourists and not only is there the main event, but there are street parties, balls, and just days of celebration. There is a common misconception that the event is not child friendly due to the apparel that the women wear (which is commonly a large headpiece and painted on bikini-type clothing, which is normalized in Brazil), but the event is for everyone! There are even children’s parades that are specifically for kids and teens.
Here is a picture of an example of what many of the women who participate in the festival wear. They wear these giant headpieces in the heat while dancing and keeping a smile on their faces, which is not an easy task. These women are the main entertainment of the event, moving their bodies to samba in ways I dont think I ever could.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIF2eyUNpBc
Here is a video of what Carnival looks like. As you can see it’s a lot of costumes, loud music, theatrics, and a whole lot of fun. My dream is to be able to go to Carnival one day and pretty much visit Rio as it’s one of the places in Brazil I have yet to visit. The tricky part is that the event falls during the school year so it has been pretty difficult to be able to go but maybe one day when I’m older and can fully enjoy it I will go but it is 100% on my bucket list. Take some time if you can to watch the video and you will get to see what the event really looks like and you will see what the hype is about. Maybe this will even inspire you to put it on your bucket list of events you would like to attend and places you would like to visit.
Carnival in Brazil is definitely on my bucket list! I’ve always wanted to experience this aspect of Brazilian culture and the way you described it makes it even more intriguing. I may have to start by visiting New Orleans for Mardi Gras because it would be a shorter trip though.
Carnival is absolutely amazing. I have wanted to go ever since my mom’s friend told me about her childhood in Rio when I was 9. It seems to be so much fun and lively. You can tell that their customs are not commonplace in the United States, but that makes it even more enticing. Great blog!