According to Wikipedia, Carnival is "an annual festival in Brazil held forty days before Easter. Carnival celebrations are believed to have roots in the pagan festival of Saturnalia, which, adapted to Christianity, became a farewell to bad things in a season of religious discipline to practice repentance and prepare for Christ's death and resurrection. Carnival is the most famous holiday in Brazil and become a event with huge proportions. The country stops completely for almost a week and festivities are intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities."
Unlike the majority of Brazilians, I am staying in Sao Paulo for Carnival. Everyone (and when I say everyone, I mean everyone!) travels for Carnival. They go to the beach. They go to the farm. They go to the cities in the north. But they don't stay in the city. Gas stations are closed. Stores are closed. It is a solid five days of rest.
To kick of Carnival, I went to a Carnival celebration on Friday. We dressed up and were handed masks, leis, and anything else that resembled costumes when we entered the place. Music started playing, especially samba (which I can't dance to save my life) and people began to let go and relax. After months of hard work during the hot Brazilian summer, it is obvious that this is a time the people look forward to every year... a time to truly live up to the Brazilian name of being a fun, relaxing country.
Saturday, exhausted from Friday, I rested most of the day. Today, though, my friend Lowell and I headed to the park to enjoy the day. On the way there, we came upon a band and Carnival celebration for the community and stopped in for a bit. The following pictures are from this celebration. There was a band, decorations and entertainment. But, most importantly, there were happy people just enjoying the music and being together.
Finally, we made it to the park and relaxed a bit. After reading, we walked around and came across stands selling refreshments to the park's visitors and a band. I posted a movie below of the band we saw you can see what a Brazilian street band is like. People watching join in and dance and sing. It's such a lively time.
It seems to be the idea of many Americans that Brazilians live a life of fun without work and responsibility. However, this is the Brazil shown in movies and on t.v., not the real Brazil. Brazilians work hard and suffer a lot from poverty and overburdening responsibility. Carnival is the time of year Brazilians can let go and enjoy the celebration. Because Carnival is one of the few things Brazil is known for (another is the beach!), news channels all over the world show clips from the Carnival celebrations. Do not be fooled though. While it certainly is five days of fun, it is only break in the lives of the hard-working people.
No comments:
Post a Comment