Carnival season is on its way and as it is well known the motherland of Carnival is Brazil. Adriana Costa is from Salvador, Bahia in Brazil; in the interview that follows, Adriana tells us about the magical carnival in Brazil and the unique culture of her country. She says: “Brazil is a master of Samba but we enjoy other rhythms too. We absolutely LOVE dancing and we dance pretty much anything. We love music. Play it and you will make a Brazilian happy, for sure”.
By Yioda Dimitriou
Adriana you are from Brazil and you lived there all your life…..What Carnival means for the Brazilian people?
It means a lot and for some people it means everything. Some States in Brazil like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, people spend the whole year preparing for the Carnival: the Carnival theme, the clothing, the allegories, the music they are going to play and sing. In Salvador, my home town, straight after the Carnival, people already start buying their Carnival costumes and plan where they will go for the following year.
Most of the people on the planet know the famous Rio De Janeiro carnival Parade. What about the
rest of the towns in Brazil? (They also celebrate carnival?)
Of course! That is the thing. For a long time, Brazil only exported the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, while there are many other places in the country with way much better Carnivals. The Carnival in Rio is different from what we have in the rest of the country. So, please find below a briefing of the two most famous parties:
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro – A city located in the South East of Brazil, State of Rio de Janeiro. They have a place called “sambódromo” and people buy seats to watch the Carnival as if they were in a stadium, watching a football match. They watch the Carnival “schools” pass by, with a huge presentation (theme, clothing, celebrities, etc) and each “school” competes with each other to see which one meets all the Carnival judging criteria. In the last day, a winner is chosen. This competition means the world for the carioca people (carioca=born in Rio) and that is why they spend a whole year preparing for it.
Carnival in Salvador – A city located in the North East of Brazil, State of Bahia. It is completely different from Rio. Salvador’s Carnival is a street carnival. Its a people’s Carnival. Actually, it has won the title of the biggest street party in the world. More than about 2 million people come to the Salvador Carnival Parades, every year. It happens during seven consecutive days, non-stop day and night. We have parades along the streets, hundreds of music bands, playing on the top of big trucks (called Trios), around specific areas in the city, called “Circuitos”. Millions of people stay around the trios, following it, enjoying the music, drinking and dancing. Some trios are independent and some are inside a “Bloco”. A “bloco” is a space on the street that is made private, a safety area surrounding the trio, protected by bodyguards and isolated from the rest of the crowd. There are many kinds of “blocos”, with many types of bands and rhythms. The costumes inside the “blocos” are called “Abadá”: a colorfull t-shirt that identifies you as a member of the “Bloco”. People pay a lot of money to be inside a “bloco”.
You can also enjoy Salvador’s Carnival as:
A “Pipoca”, where you can simply dance on the streets with the crowd, for free. “Pipoca” in Portuguese means “popcorn ,a way of describing how people jump around the trios.
And inside a “Camarote” – Camarote is a fixed cabin, located in strategic high places around the Carnival circuito, so you can watch the party. Is like Rio de Janeiro. You have many types of Camarotes to choose from.
Other Brazilian cities also celebrate carnival, in their own way.
As you can see, I find Salvador’s Carnival way much better than Rio. Not only because I am from Salvador, but because you can enjoy more and participate more than just watch.
What Brazilians usually on the carnival days?
Well, that is something. Some of us like to enjoy the party, but some of us take those days off to travel somewhere quiet. I love Carnival, but my fiancée doesn’t. So to make it work for both of us, I go to the party for three days and travel to some amazing beach to spend the rest of the 5 days left. It is almost like a holiday over here. We use to say that “the year only starts after the Carnival”.
For how many days the carnival last in Brazil?
Carnival period for Rio: 2 days (Sunday and Monday). This year will be on March 2nd and March 3rd. Carnival period for Salvador: 8 days (From Wednesday to Wednesday). This year will be from February 26th to March 5th
How is the situation in Brazil economical wise? Can the people afford to create all those parades with those amazing customs?
You don’t really need that much money to enjoy the Carnival in Salvador. You can go as a Pipoca and you will only need money for drinks, food and transport. Those with money can go to the blocos and camarotes.
What dance means from Brazilian people? We know the famous samba dance. Are there other famous Brazilian dances?
Brazil is a master of Samba but we enjoy other rhythms too. We absolutely LOVE dancing and we dance pretty much anything. We love music. Play it and you will make a Brazilian happy, for sure.
If i ask you to describe the unique things (according to your opinion) about your culture, what you would say?
Brazilian women, our football, our passionate behavior, our strength to face all problems with a smile and never give up. Brazilians never give up.
Is the carnival time the best time Europeans to visit Brazil?
It depends on what you are looking for. If it is party and craziness, then yes, you should come. If you want a quiet time and enjoy the Brazilian nature and beauty, than it is better some other time. Summer in Brazil it is amazing, but it can be quite expensive too, hotels and all.
If I ask you to give us one reason why someone should visit your country, what you would say?
The Brazilian people. You will never match that in any other country.
