May 28, 2012 Brazil is rightfully considered a country of carnivals, in many of its cities their own carnivals are held, but one of the most famous and most spectacular in the world is, of course, the carnival in .
This grand event takes place in the month of February, and how exactly, we will learn from this article.
Brazilian carnival (Carnaval do Brasil)- an annual festival that takes place in many cities 40 days before Easter, marking the beginning of Lent. During Lent, Roman Catholics abstain from all bodily pleasures. That is why the Brazilian carnival, as an act of farewell to pleasures, takes place on the eve of Lent.
There are several versions of the origin of the Brazilian carnival. According to one of them, it is based on the "Funny Day" brought by the Portuguese in the 17th century - a holiday accompanied by songs and dances, when it was customary to fool each other in all sorts of ways, douse yourself with water, throw around raw eggs and beans. Soon, black slaves brought to Brazil from Africa joined this fun, bringing colorful customs from their homeland. By the 20th century, the Brazilian carnival absorbed elements of the carnivals of Italy and France. It was then that masks, fantastic costumes and characters came to the Brazilian holiday. Regional variations of the carnival also appeared.
In 1928, the first samba dance school arose in Rio, and since then the tradition of carnival parades of samba schools has spread to other cities. The largest parades of samba schools are just the carnival in Rio, as well as the carnival in Sao Paulo. In these cities, there are special sambadromes, where the performances of samba schools actually take place, the entrance for spectators is paid there (but all street processions, of course, are free).
However, the tradition of street carnivals, in which anyone who wishes can participate, has not disappeared even today. It has survived mainly in the northeast of Brazil, in the cities of Salvador, Recife and Olinda. Hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets to walk the roads of the city together, dance, sing, party and have fun. In these cities, parades are held not only to the rhythms of samba, for example, in Recife and Olinda - to the rhythms of maracatu, afosha and freva.
The Brazilian Carnival is the largest national holiday country and the most famous holiday in Brazil. At the time of its holding, life in the country completely freezes, the holiday is celebrated day and night, 50% of the annual beer consumption falls on this period and 70% of tourists come to Brazil at this time.
takes place once a year in the month of February (the height of the Brazilian summer). The holiday begins on the Saturday preceding Great Lent and continues for 4 days and 4 nights until Ash Wednesday (Quarta-feira de cinzas).
This festival is organized with the participation of the Ministry of Tourism and the League of Samba Schools, and its conduct is broadcast on almost all TV channels.
The carnival begins with a symbolic transfer of the keys to Rio de Janeiro by the city mayor to the "king of the carnival", who becomes the full owner of the city for the duration of the holiday.
The main feature of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro is that it is not an impromptu procession with dances and songs, but a well-rehearsed theatrical procession-competition of samba schools, in which up to 4,000 people from each school participate at the same time.
Each samba school prepares very carefully for this holiday for a whole year, everything is thought out to the smallest detail, the theme of the performance is chosen, music and choreography are prepared, unique costumes are created and moving platforms are designed.
Forty members of the jury will evaluate each item: the cohesion of the team, the rhythm of the drums and their consistency with the dance and singing, and, of course, the overall impression.
One of the most important persons during the procession of the school is the flag-bearer, who heads the car, and the assessment also largely depends on her performance.
Every day, more than two million people take part in the carnival on the streets of the city, but the main carnival procession takes place at the Sambadrome, a special 700-meter street designed for carnival, with stands and boxes designed for 90,000 spectators. The parade of samba schools at the sambadrome starts in the evening at 21 and can last for 10 hours.
The winning school of last year's carnival is the first to pass through the Sambadrome, and then the rest of the schools go on the list. First, the name of the school is carried, then its employees and celebrities go to carnival costumes, behind them are thousands of dancers and musicians, as well as brightly decorated platforms on wheels, near which elite dancers "passistas" dance.
The demonstrations of samba schools will end with the Parade of Champions, which will be determined by a competent jury. Based on the results of the carnival, a school is selected - the winner, which is awarded a cash prize.
Below is information about the dates of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro for the coming years:
In 2014 - March 1-4
In 2015 - February 14-17
In 2016 - February 6-9
In 2017 - February 25-28
In 2018 - February 10-13
In 2019 - March 2-5
In 2020 - February 22-25
The Sambódromo is a stadium built specifically for the annual parade of samba schools during the carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The Sambadrome was designed and built by renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer. The stadium was put into operation on September 5, 1983, just 5 months before the start of the carnival. Although a month earlier, in August 1983, the government of Rio de Janeiro announced that the parades would be held at the Maracanã stadium, the Sambodrome received positive reviews and became the main venue for the carnival.
Sambadrome is a 700-meter street, reminiscent of a runway, on both sides of which there are long stands for spectators. The area of the entire Sambadrome is 85 thousand square meters. meters, which can accommodate up to 62 thousand people. The territory of the Sambodrome for spectators is divided into 12 sectors, the closer to the center of the site, the higher the cost of tickets.
The 13-meter passage of this street is intended for the theatrical procession of samba schools. Each school must cover a distance of 700 meters in 1 hour and 20 minutes. During this time, from 3 to 6 thousand students of one school pass along this street on 10 moving platforms. During the procession, each school tries to show some historical event or legend with the help of dance. In addition to the audience, there is a jury in the stands, which evaluates the performance, costumes and dances, which must correspond to the chosen theme.
Diagram of the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro
TterritorySambodromedivided into 12 sectors,which are divided intocategoriesand:
1) Grandstands - general entrance tickets, seats are not indicated on the tickets, having bought these tickets, you should arrive at the Sambadrome early to take the most convenient seats.
2) Allocated chairs - places in sectors 12 and 13, which are located at the end of the procession.
3) Front Box ( frisas ) - designed for companies of 6 people, for which there is a sofa, a table.
4) Special Box - designed for companies of 12 people. These places are under a roof in the middle of the Sambodrome, sector 7.
5) Luxury Suites - Seats are located along the entire Sambadrome, Sectors 4, 6, 8 and 10. They are considered the most convenient, offer an excellent view of the parade from private serviced suites.
6) Folia Tropical (VIP hall) - located in the 10th sector. This is a huge area, with a capacity of up to 400 people. Includes bar, buffet, service, dance floor.
The carnival lasts 4 - 5 nights from 21:00 to 05:00. On the first and second nights of the carnival, new schools of the Second League (Access Group) are held along the Sambadrome, and the third and fourth nights of the First League (Special Group), on the last night - only the winners of the carnival pass. In one night they manage to pass 6 schools.
How to get to the Sambadrome
The address: R.Marques de Sapucai, Santo Cristo, Brazil
The nearest metro station is Praça Onze
Some Tips
1. Take comfortable and warm clothes.
2. According to many tourists, the best sectors at the Sambadrome are 4, 5, 6 and 7; tickets for sector 6 are in special demand. Also, tourists who visited the carnival are advised not to buy tickets for 12 and 13 sectors, because viewers in these places do not see the most interesting, tk. the procession participants, having reached these sectors, are so tired that they stop.
3. If your seats are not indicated, then it is better to arrive at the stadium early to take good places. The sambadrome opens at 18:00 during the carnival. The procession starts at 21:00.
4. Take something soft with you to put on the place where you will sit.
5. Correct pronunciation: Sambodromo [sambaabout drome].
6. A lot of people go to the carnival, so if you go to the stadium by metro or other public transport then leave early. Even more convenient to order in advance , who will take you to the Sambadrome and bring you to the hotel at night.
7. In order not to waste time on the road, then stop in Rio de Janeiro closer to the Sambadrome.
Brazilian carnivals are perhaps the most exciting show in the world and the main event of the year for every Brazilian. No wonder they say that in Brazil they live from carnival to carnival.
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro- an event that millions of people dream of attending. Every year in February, the whole of Brazil, embraced by the continuous thunder of drums beating the rhythm of the incendiary samba, plunges into the most noisy, bright and fun party the greatest show on the planet.
To carnival in Rio de Janeiro takes place once a year, in February, in the midst of the Brazilian summer! This holiday always starts on Saturday and lasts 4 days and 4 nights!
This is a luxurious and expensive performance for the whole world. The streets of Rio seem specially designed for sambodromo (samba parades): a whirlwind of sequins, fireworks and billowing skirts of dancers takes over the city.
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is currently one of the grandest and most organized carnivals in Brazil. Every year, samba penetrates the blood of all participants and guests of the carnival, and for five days Brazil becomes an African country.
Traditionally, 12 samba schools participate in the Carnival. Each of them has a very great influence on the cultural life in the country, has several tens of thousands of fans who are sure that their samba school is the best and are looking forward to the Carnival, hoping for the championship.
One way or another, but samba schools today are the fundamental principle of the entire carnival procession. After all, it is their competition among themselves for the right to be called the best that makes the whole mechanism work, in which hundreds of thousands of people are involved. What is a samba school? In fact, this is just a union of people who believe that they can dance samba better than others. Usually one school has from three to five thousand people, most of whom will represent their school at the carnival. All of them work for a whole year in order to get into the top six schools and show their art in the final part of the holiday at the sambadrome.
It may seem that the carnival is a holiday that lasts only one week a year. This is not true. You can not even take into account that preparations for the carnival last all year, and that training continues all year long, costumes are sewn, carts are prepared and music is written. The concept of carnival is much broader than just a nationwide celebration or a successful commercial enterprise that captures the minds of various people for months. Carnival is a way of thinking. Brazil has become the only country in the world where a complete carnivalization of life has taken place.
Carnival is a way of life not only for each individual Brazilian, but for the entire state.
Carnival in El Salvador
Carnival in Salvador presents the best Afro-Brazilian music as well as performances different groups called the Afoxé societies. One of the most famous groups is Filhos de Gandhi (Children of Gandhi). Dressed in white tunics and blue turbans, the members of this society form one of the many groups that take part in the procession.
Each group is formed around two platforms. An orchestra is at the head of the group on the platform. The platforms are surrounded by dancers. The orchestra plays such incendiary music that it is impossible to stand still, everyone around is dancing, having fun, joking and laughing. Unlike the carnival in Rio de Janeiro, here anyone can easily become a participant in the parade. To do this, he just needs to buy a T-shirt (Abada), giving the right to join a group.
Carnival in Recife
In the last week of October, Recife also hosts an off-season Carnival called Recifolia. Carnival in Recife also takes place in the form of a festive street procession. Over two million people take to the streets during this Salvador Dali-style Carnival and dance traditional dances for seven days. In the center of a procession of many thousands rises a giant doll. Carnival participants, often wearing masks, dance and sing in the Frevo style of music, which is typical of the northeast of Brazil. Recife is also called the capital frevo- original music and parasol dance. This dance is the main leitmotif of the carnival in Recife and Olinda, when all the inhabitants of both cities take to the streets and take part in the celebration. Papier-mâché dolls also take part in this carnival.
One of the brightest and unusual holidays in the world - the carnival in Rio de Janeiro 2019 - promises to be an unusually colorful spectacle. We will tell about its history and traditions.
History and Traditions of the Brazilian Carnival
In the old days, an analogue of Shrovetide was held in Western Europe these days. The Portuguese settlers who arrived in Brazil brought here the custom of “entrudo”, when during street entertainment people poured water on each other, showered with flour, corn, beans and soot, threw rotten eggs, etc.
Since the 17th century, a carnival similar to the Portuguese one has been held in Brazil. Over time, this holiday absorbed the traditions of carnivals held in Italy and France.
The first costume ball was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1840. And in 1928, the first samba dance school Deixa Falar was established here.
The tradition of holding carnival parades with military bands and moving platforms has spread to other cities and has become especially popular in São Paulo. Topless dancers first appeared at the Brazilian carnival in 1976.
When and how will the carnival in Rio de Janeiro take place in 2019?
The Brazilian carnival, which takes place 40 days before Easter, symbolizes the farewell of people to carnal pleasures before Lent. In 2019, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro will take place from 2 to 5 March.
On the first day, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro hands over the keys to the city to the "owner" of the holiday - King Momo, whose role is played by the most obese man in the city, weighing at least 110 kg.
The four days during which the carnival goes on, competitions of the best Brazilian samba schools are organized, which demonstrate their talents in the Sambadrome, a three-story building designed for 70,000 spectators.
The presentation of each school can last up to one and a half hours. Every year the songs and dances performed here become more and more diverse.
Thousands of tourists from all over the world are expected to visit the Brazilian Carnival 2019. Almost all residents of the country take part in this national holiday.
In addition to the carnival in Rio de Janeiro in 2019, festive events will also be held in other Brazilian cities: Sao Paulo, Recife, Salvador, Fortaleza and others.
These days, costume parties and balls are held everywhere. During the holiday, all institutions and shops are closed, even in small towns and villages.
Brazilian carnival costumes
I must say that until the early 1960s, the carnival costumes of the participants were quite poor. A real revolution took place at the carnival in 1963, when one of the samba schools entered the competition in luxurious multi-colored outfits trimmed with feathers.
A traditional samba costume consists of several elements: head ornaments with multi-colored feathers, rhinestones and other decorative elements attached to the back of the “tail” dancer, which often forms a single ensemble with a headdress, etc.
It remains to be said that those who decide to visit the Brazilian Carnival 2019 should purchase a tour to this country in advance or take care of booking hotel rooms on their own, because these days thousands of tourists come here.
Brazil is an amazing country of contrasts. Some citizens of this southern country raise modern jet liners into the sky, perform the most complex heart transplant surgeries, plastic surgeons in Brazil generally work wonders, patients from all over the world come to them. But, despite the fact that over the past hundred years Brazil has made a huge leap in its development, there are also citizens in the country who live in places untouched by civilization, they still do not even suspect the existence of the wheel, writing and matches. and make fire by friction. Some citizens of this country buy luxury cars for fifty thousand cruzeiros. Others wash them for 5 cruzeiros. Some work on the construction of luxurious palaces on Copacabana, while others live in them. All this is true, but without exception, Brazilians, poor and rich, living in modern cities and small villages, love fun, music, dance and laughter. And it doesn't matter if it's dancing to the beat of drums around a fire in a lost village on the ocean or the world's greatest theatrical procession at Copacabana.
Carnival in Brazil - worth living to see it!
The Brazilian carnival is the brightest and most joyful holiday in the whole world, impressing with its scope, energy, fantastic nature of what is happening and the unsurpassed talent of the participants dancing samba like beautiful unearthly goddesses. For all the townspeople - this is the most exciting and therefore the most favorite holiday. Festival in Brazil eagerly awaiting, preparation for it takes the whole year. Staging the number, creating new costumes, and a lot of rehearsals. The names of couturiers who create costumes for samba schools in the country are more popular than Hollywood actors and directors in their own Hollywood. By the way, if you plan to visit the country at another time, then for a symbolic price you can see how the rehearsal is going on in one of the schools of the best six.
The festival takes place in Brazil in the last days of winter, so the Brazilians welcome the arrival of spring with a passionate samba. Carnival in Brazil, has pagan roots and is an analogue of Russian Shrovetide. Just like in Russia, it precedes Great Lent, giving joy to the flesh for the last time.
Carnival in Brazil is a reflection of the joyful and restless soul of all Brazilians. Half-naked beautiful dancers and an atmosphere of universal happiness - all together, what could be better. There is a cult of a beautiful body in the country. Samba and football are the national pride of Brazil. All residents have two obligatory passions - the samba school and the football team they support. They get sick recklessly, which is interesting, they make and accept bets on the winner of carnival competitions.
This grandiose holiday stops the business life of the city. When the carnival takes place in Brazil, half-naked locals mixed with foreign tourists walk through the streets of the city day and night, dressing themselves in the most unimaginable costumes. Incendiary music sounds everywhere, they arrange funny contests. Kitchen utensils turn into percussion instruments. Everywhere fun, laughter, noise and din. A real universal holiday captures every corner of the city. Every traveler dreams of taking part in it at least once, Russian people also like to walk in a big way and many tourists from Russia prefer to walk through the streets of Brazilian cities at this time. local residents rather than attend the Brazilian festival. Experienced tourists say that such a walk is a real and exciting adventure. pay attention to carnival photo in brazil, perhaps they will be the first step on the way to the treasured trip.
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
This year, for the 82nd time, the carnival took place in Rio de Janeiro. In the modern format, the carnival was held for the first time in 1932. Then for the first time there was a competition for the title of the best school of national dance. It all started with the fact that back in 1928, sambo schools began to appear in Brazil. Festival in Rio de Janeiro in the form of a competition between schools have become the main events of the carnival in Brazil.
When is carnival in Rio de Janeiro this year? - asks all travelers who are going to fly to Rio: both those who want to get to it and those who want to see the country in a calmer time.
We answer: exactly seven weeks before Easter and always on Saturday at seven o'clock in the evening local time, the Carnival King, elected from the local good-natured fat men, takes power over the city from the mayor of Rio on the days of the festivities - the holiday begins!
It is in Rio de Janeiro that the most spectacular shows in all of Brazil take place. The fame of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro thunders all over the world. Only slightly inferior to them in scope are the carnival processions taking place in the cities of Sao Paulo, Recife, El Salvador and Fortaleza. Festive festivities take place in all settlements of the Brazilian Republic. Four days of general fun completely absorb the country.
When does it pass Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, it becomes for the participants themselves four days of exhausting and intense struggle. The best schools, dancing, fight for victory - they prepare for the competition for a whole year. Each school is represented in the parade by 2,000 to 5,000 people. Grand procession.
How is the holiday in Rio de Janeiro?
Especially for the carnivals in Rio, the Sambodrome was built. This is the widest street with multi-storey stands, accommodating approximately 70,000 spectators, along which samba schools pass during the parade in Rio de Janeiro. The ticket price for the best seats reaches up to $1,500, this price includes everything that a person watching the spectacle may need, you can even ask for a SPA treatment. Huge screens are installed next to the stands, showing close-ups of the procession, taken by cameras from a special balcony for the press, which is located across the Sambadrome, the same recording is shown live on Brazilian TV. If, for some reason, you were unable to buy a ticket to the stands, do not even think about getting upset because of this. On huge monitors, the festival can sometimes be seen even better than from the stands. Parade in Rio de Janeiro lasts two days, starting at 9 pm local time and ending closer to 5-6 am.
They don’t dance samba in Brazil, as the Brazilians themselves say, they live samba there ...
This dance was born from a mixture of different musical directions: Brazilian and African motifs, Portuguese and Italian folk melodies, and there is even something from the polka in it. The sensual movements of samba originate from the magical dances of African tribes. Currently, there are more than a thousand samba schools throughout the country, and the dream of each is to be among the leaders, in the top six. It is prestigious and also monetary.
Each dance school participating in the festival in Rio de Janeiro passes through the Sambadrome, presenting to the audience a thematic theatrical performance, revealing one theme, announced by the school for the competition. Mostly about nature, music or sports, but sometimes schools also touch on political topics. The best fashion designers sew the costumes, the best choreographers choreograph the dance, the best engineers develop the allegorical platform, and the best composers write the music. For the carnival, everything is only the best.
The culminating part of the carnival is the parade of the best samba schools. They pass like this: in front of the procession, on top of a stylized wagon, is the queen of the school, surrounded by the best dancers. The masters of the school, eminent dancers and athletes, artists and giant puppets ride behind the platform in brightly decorated wagons. Moving in the rhythm of an incendiary dance, the students of the school accompany the procession, frank costumes reveal to the audience the beautiful bodies of the dancers, nudity is not in the rules of the competition, but the costumes of the participants can hardly be called clothes. Well, in Brazil they don’t like to wear too much on themselves! Sometimes, the procession of one school stretches for about 500 meters and moves along the Sambadrome for about an hour. Spectators meet the final procession of the festival at dawn and see off in the morning.
Each performance is evaluated by a specially selected competition jury. Evaluation of the performance consists of many criteria: the professionalism of the dancers, the beauty of the costumes, the musical accompaniment, the decoration of the procession - nothing escapes the eyes of the attentive jury.
Then the winners are announced. A few days after the end of the festival in Rio de Janeiro, the champions are honored at the Sambodrome, and they delight the audience with demonstration performances.
Carnival in Brazil 2014
This year in Brazil, spring was celebrated on February 28, 2014. According to eyewitnesses, the most grandiose shows were held in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. According to official figures, more than a million tourists from 2014 came to the carnival in Brazil from different parts of the globe to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the legendary festival, look at the magnificence of beautiful bodies dressed in fantastic costumes, demonstrating the highest mastery of exotic dance during the festival. To appreciate the scale and beauty of the holiday that took place this year, you need to look at the photo report from Carnival in Brazil 2014, photos of girls, in carnival costumes are admired. Headwear from fantasy novels and bikini strings from famous designers have left no one indifferent. Carnival in Brazil 2014 years passed without scandals and incidents.
An interesting event on the eve of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro was a topless parade that took place as part of the Banda da Rua do Mercado festival. Practical nudity girls cultural capital of Brazil with body art on the chest became the highlight of the program. To the rhythms of samba, they ignited a crowd of fifty thousand. A good start carnival in Brazil 2014, photos of girls from this festival, held on February 27, went around the whole world that day. People filled the streets to watch the incredibly spectacular procession - in Brazil, everyone was waiting for the carnival.
Some statistics regarding the 2014 carnival in Rio de Janeiro:
· Foreign tourists - 900,000 people, which is approximately 33% of those who visited Rio in a year.
· Police officers at the event - 1200 people.
· Distributed condoms by the Brazilian Ministry of Health - 600,000 pieces, a good idea, by the way!
Where did carnival come from in Brazil?
Scientists historians and culturologists attribute the origin of the holiday to many centuries ago. They believe that the beginning of this popular mass holiday came from the ancient rituals of welcoming spring and planting a new crop. The basis of ancient agriculture was the worship of nature. At that time, celebrations in honor of the gods were the most important events of the year for people, they praised and thanked mother nature for her gifts to man. The holiday carried a magical background and was intended to appease the gods, call them to mercy: to save the harvest, protect them from diseases and terrible cataclysms. The holiday - a ritual that unites man with nature, was supposed to show the gods that people are part of nature.
But in the first centuries of our era, paganism in the territory of modern Europe began to be replaced by Christianity. With him came a strict division of the world into good and evil, the interpretation of life on earth as a mortal struggle for the human soul between God and the Devil significantly changed the foundations of human society. The world has changed dramatically, and people have recognized many of their natural needs as sin. And carnivals became the only link connecting the medieval European, driven by the church into a rigid framework with his earthly nature.
Carnival was brought to Brazil by Europeans who discovered the New World in the Middle Ages. There, over time, it took on such proportions as could not have been imagined in Europe.
The Europeans who discovered new lands were amazed at the picture of life that opened before them. They found an earthly paradise - a tropical country with warm ocean waters and endless expanses covered with wonderful forests with extraordinarily tasty fruits and beautiful flowers, inhabited by unprecedented animals and birds, as well as peaceful natives ... This land seemed to the discoverers a salvation.
And at that time in Europe, the Catholic Church exterminated the population with the Inquisition - bonfires burned in the central squares, on which witches and sorcerers were burned: Europe trembled with fear, a sense of constant threat and a premonition of a terrible death made the life of ordinary Europeans unbearable. And when the Brazilian paradise opened before them, unbridled fun began, which continues to this day under the name of the famous carnival in Brazil.
Many Europeans of that terrible time dreamed of going to the New World, but not many could afford it. Some objectionable courtiers were lucky to be exiled there.
The celebration began to take on modern features from 1808, when, after the capture of Portugal by Napoleon, the entire court of the country cowardly fled from Lisbon to its distant colony and chose Rio as the location of the royal person.
Escaped from reprisals and subdued by the local beauty, the royal ruler, together with the whole court, indulged in an endless series of festivities to celebrate. And it didn’t matter to him what to celebrate - everything served as an occasion for a noisy holiday and folk festivals.
The celebration in honor of the coronation of this ruler who fled from Europe - Joao VI - lasted 10 days in a row - he was accompanied by fireworks, illumination shows, theatrical and fire performances. Brightly decorated theatrical carts passed through the streets, followed by dancing royal jesters, unusually dressed and amusing others.
This celebration left a noticeable mark in history, so art historians decided that this particular event was the first carnival in Rio.
How was the carnival in Brazil in 2013, video:
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