BRAZILIAN CARNIVAL

The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held during the Friday to the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove (literally, "raise") meat.”Carnival has roots in the paganfestival of Saturnalia,[2] which, adapted to Catholicism became a farewell to bad things in a season of religious discipline to practice repentance and prepare for Christ's death and resurrection.Rhythm, participation, and costumes vary from one region of Brazil to another. In the southeastern cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Vitória, huge organized parades are led by samba schools. Those official parades are meant to be watched by the public, while minor parades ("blocos") allowing public participation can be found in other cities. The northeastern cities of Recife, Olinda, Salvador and Porto Seguro have organized groups parading through streets, and public interacts directly with them. This carnival is also influenced by African-Brazilian culture. It's a six-day party where crowds follow the trios elétricos through the city streets, dancing and singing. Also in northeast, Olinda carnival features unique characteristics, heavily influenced by local folklore and cultural manifestations, such as Frevo and Maracatu.The typical genres of music of Brazilian carnival are, in Rio de Janeiro (and Southeast Region in general): the samba-enredo, the samba d bloco, the samba de embalo and the marchinha; in Pernambuco and Bahia (and Northeast Regionin general) the main genres are: the frevo, the maracatu, the samba-reggae and Axé music.

THE CARNIVAL OF BRAZIL :

Main article: Bahian Carnival Circuit Barra-Ondina, the most famous circuit of Brazilwhere attractions sing above the trio elétrico in the city ofSalvador, BahiaThere are several major differences between Carnival in the state of Bahia in Northeastern Brazil and Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The musical styles are different at each carnival; in Bahia there are many rhythms, including samba, samba-reggae, axé, etc., while in Rio there is the multitude of samba styles: the "samba-enredo", the "samba de bloco", the "samba de embalo", the "funk-samba", as well as the famous "marchinhas" played by the "bandas" in the streets. Carnival circuit of the city ofSalvador.In the 1880s, the black population commemorated the days of Carnival in its own way, highly marked by Yoruba characteristics, dancing in the streets playing instruments. This form was thought of as "primitive" by the upper-class white elite, and the groups were banned from participating in the official Bahia Carnival, dominated by the local conservative elite. The groups defied the ban and continued to do their dances.By the 1970s, four main types of carnival groups developed in Bahia: Afoxês, Trios Elétricos, "Amerindian" groups, and Blocos Afros. Afoxês use the rhythms of the African inspired religion, Candomblé.

BAHIA STYLE :

Olinda Carnival, in the historic city of Olinda. Recife Carnival, in the capital city of the State of Pernambuco, Recife.The North East state of Pernambuco has unique Carnivals in its present capital Recife and in its colonial capital Olinda. Their main rhythms are the frevo and the maracatu. Galo da Madrugada is the biggest carnival parade in the world, considering the number of participants, according The Guinness Book of World Records. It means "dawn's rooster" and parades, as the name suggests, in the morning only. Frevo is Pernambucan-style dance with African and acrobatic influences, as it is fast and electrifying, often using an open umbrella and frequent legs and arms movements.Unlike Salvador and Rio, the festivities in Recife, Olinda and Itamaraca do not include group competitions. Instead, groups dance and play instruments side by side. Troças and maracatus, mostly of African influence, begin one week before Carnival and end a week later. Some well-known groups have funny names, such as: Tell me you love me, damn eggymann (with a famous giant dancing doll that leads the group), Crazy Lover, Olinda's Underpants, and The Door. Held 40 days before Lent.

PERNAMBUCO STYLE

Carnival parade in São Paulo, Gaviões da Fiel Torcida Samba School.The carnival in São Paulo takes place in the Sambodrome of Anhembi on the Friday and Saturday night of the week of Carnival, as opposed to Rio's Carnival, which is held on Sunday and Monday night.Various "samba schools" compete in a huge parade. Each school presents a different theme, which they expose through their costumes, dance, music and the allegorical cars or “carros alegóricos”, huge vehicles decorated according to the theme designed specifically for the parade).The schools are responsible for choosing their own themes, which usually revolve around historical happenings or some sort of cultural or political movement.The most famous (and usually the winners) samba schools are: Nenê de Vila Matilde, Gaviões da Fiel, Vai-Vai, Camisa Verde e Branco, Unidos do Peruche, Mocidade Alegre and Rosas de Ouro (which in English translate to, respectively: Baby from Matilde Village; Sparrowhawks of the Faithful; Go-Go; Green and White Shirt; Peruche United; Happy Youth; and Golden Roses).Vai-Vai is the oldest school and has been the First Division champion most times (14 total, including the 2011 championship). It also is the most popular, for it has the most fans.

SÃO PAULO STYLE: