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Carnival 2009 in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
Carnival in Bahia is it, baby! That is, of course, if parties and crowds are your thing. Nowhere else comes close. Carnival Bahia is not nubile women in feathers high up on floaters à la Carnival Rio. It's YOU out there on the streets doing it 'til you drop. Carnaval (as it's spelled in Portuguese) 2009 starts Thursday, February 19th, and it runs through Tuesday, February 24th -- officially. Unofficially (and actually) it runs to the morning of Ash Wednesday, February 25th, and then continues in the arrastão (roundup) of Timbalada, which starts Wednesday morning at the Farol da Barra and winds its way along Avenida Oceanica to Ondina. The arrastão, which started several years ago and was only Timbalada has now seen other people and blocos jump on the the bandwagon (quite literally). It's grown to include at least three trios and blocos, winding up early Wednesday afternoon, and then there you are at Ondina's lovely beach, where the party continues at the barracas. Whew! I'll be at Heinz's. Salvador Carnival Modus OperandiCarnival in Salvador basically has two parts: the parade of trio elétricos (more about them in a moment), and the barracas. A trio elétrico is a done-up semitrailer, loaded with thousands of watts of sound equipment and with a band playing on top. They parade very slowly along one of two circuits; one closer to the city center, running from Campo Grande (literally "Big Field", Salvador's central park) to Praça Castro Alves (named for Antônio Frederico de Castro Alves, the Bahian poet who, among other things, wielded his mighty pen against the injustices of slavery and political oppression) and the other running from Barra to Ondina, along the Atlantic Ocean. They are called "trios" because the first one was an old car ('29 Ford) with a driver and two musicians (Dodô and Osmar) in the back (the car can be seen in the museum at the Lagoa da Abaeté in Itapoan; it debuted in 1950). The trios form the nucleus of the blocos (with the exception of the blocos afros). One pays to join a bloco and is given an abadá (a getup consisting of a t-shirt and shorts, usually), which allows one to parade with the bloco inside the cordão (rope carried by security personnel). The people who aren't in blocos, and who are hence outside of the roped-off areas around the trios, are called pipoca (or popcorn). An exception to the ubiquitous abadás can be found in Margareth Menezes' bloco, Os Mascarados (“The Masked Ones”). In a not-so-reverent nod to another time, members of this bloco dress in their own costumes (more further down)! The other part of Carnaval is the barracas. They are everywhere, turning Salvador into a city of ten thousand parties. A lot of them have their own sound systems. And where there isn't a barraca, there'll be somebody with an isopor (styrofoam cooler) selling beer or batidas (cachaça/fruit mixtures; killer strength).
On the Thursday evening which is the beginning of Carnaval, the city's mayor turns the key to the city over to Rei Momo at Campo Grande (rei is "king", and although " Rei Momo" is a different person every year "he" always looks like an overweight Nero). Thursday is generally kind of a slow Carnaval night ("slow" is a very relative term here, I must warn you), a lot of people still have to get up and go to work on Friday. Friday night picks up, and then on Saturday (Sábado do Carnaval) all hell breaks loose. Watch out for crushes of people, especially on closed-in areas when trios pass, because it can get truly scary. Note: For the first time in history, this year's (2008) Rei Momo will be a skinny guy! Clarindo Silva of Cantina da Lua has been chosen, and although his importance to Salvador is not being questioned, the appropriateness of his silhouette sure is. Note on the Note: Apparently, after a firestorm of criticism, worthy but willowy Clarindo Silva has been dethroned before the fact, and a more substantial Rei Momo will reign. A lot of people with the money to spend rent camarotes (kind of like boxes along the parade route) from which they can watch the activity and then descend into the muvuca (madness) when they feel like it.
So, What's Up With All These Carnival Circuits?!The three Carnival Circuits are: • The Campo Grande - Praça Castro Alves Circuit, also called the “Osmar” Circuit, or simply the “Avenidas”. • The Barra - Ondina Circuit, also called the “Dodô” Circuit. • The Pelourinho Circuit, also called the “Batatinha” Circuit.
1. The Campo Grande - Praça Castro Alves Circuit is the original Salvador Carnival Circuit (going as far back as the 50's anyway; the where and what of Carnival is actually something of a complicated story). Carnival's official opening is at Campo Grande, and this is where the political bigshots sit and where the Carnival blocos are judged. The trios move away from Campo Grande and down Avenida Sete de Setembro (usually called “Avenida Sete” by the locals) to Praça Castro Alves. From there they swing around the corner and make their way back to Campo Grande by Rua Carlos Gomes, which runs parallel to Avenida Sete. The course takes six hours or so to run (“crawl” might be a better word!). The denomination “Osmar” is in homage to one of the two creators of the trio elétrico. 2. The Barra - Ondina Circuit was added in '92 (when it was very much secondary to the Campo Grande - Castro Alves circuit). The trios start at the Farol ( Lighthouse ) da Barra and wend their way up along the ocean to Ondina. The course takes some four hours or so. Nowadays there is a tendency for the bigger names to play this circuit, as it is seen as more desirable (a view I don't necessarily share) by a lot of Salvador's middle-class youth, the ones with the money to join the bigger blocos. The denomination “Dodô” is in homage to the other creator of the trio elétrico. 3. The Pelourinho Circuit is a late-comer, having been added in the last several years (though it might be more rightly said that this circuit experienced a rebirth). No trios here, rather a lot of old-time marching bands and people with kids in costume.
The denomination “Batatinha” is in homage to Batatinha (Oscar da Penha), a sambista and composer of wonderful music. Batatinha died in 1997 at 72 years of age, and if you're close to Campo Grande you can stop in at Bar Toalha de Saudade -- owned and run by Batatinha's son Vavá -- on the Ladeira dos Aflitos (not too far from the top of the street, on the right-hand side as one descends). As a matter of fact, the bar was named for a song of Batatinha's wherein he recounts the true story of a chance meeting during a Carnival years ago...a lovely young woman emerging from nowhere, asking Batatinha if she might borrow the towel he was carrying (which was a part of his samba-school kit) to dry her face. She thanked him for his kindness and melded back into the crowds, leaving Batatinha filled with nothing but longing, her sweet fragrance, and thoughts of what might have been...
Notes on Some Blocos, Afoxés, and Trios One bloco which has for years now been a Carnival staple (formed in 1980) and which offers a good example of the typical big, synthy, commercial bloco sound all too prevalent during Carnival is Cheiro de Amor (Smell of Love; I would imagine that the original idea was Cheio de Amor -- Full of Love -- and then the more provocative sound-alike popped into somebody's Carnival-fevered brain). Below is an example of this sound, although I've chosen, in order to attenuate the fluff, a rendition of a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l song from the Bahian interior, really a combination of three songs, two in the public domain plus one which was thought to have been in the public domain but which actually turned out to have been composed in 1964 by Manoel de Isaías. The song is entitled "Quixabeira" and if I may digress a bit there is an interesting history behind it...
Os Mascarados, as has been stated, is Margareth Menezes' bloco. The quality of the music is, generally speaking, excellent. This bloco has a substantial GLBT following. Below is one of Margareth's Carnival hits from a couple of years ago, Dandalunda being the Bantu equivalent of the Ketu Yemanjá (goddess of the seas). Timbalada is another generally excellent bloco, usually much more creative than most of the others (although Timbalada has fallen into the common Carnival custom of playing over and over other blocos' popular songs irregardless of those songs' intrinsic quality). The song below was a particularly nice one which was the hit of Carnival '96. Ara Ketu began as an afoxé in the Salvador suburb of Periperi, but the musical element was popularized and grew in popularity until Araketu (featuring lead singer Tatau) became one of Salvador's biggest acts. Ara Ketu's Carnival bloco is puxado ("pulled", as they say here) by a really top-flight band. Ilê Aiyê is a bloco afro that is very roots oriented (as a matter of fact, if you don't have the right roots, you won't get in), their heralded passing being one of the highlights of (a lot of people's) Carnival. The song below asks "What bloco is this?" Chiclete Com Banana is a huge Carnival favorite, a band which generally goes out with bloco Nana Banana. Just because they're popular doesn't mean their music would hold up to any scrutiny though, and the bloco is unfailingly accompanied by a flurry of petty thieves, pickpockets, and trouble-makers (outside the cordão ). If you get caught in that crowd with anything in your pockets you'll get cleaned out and fast! Olodum is another bloco which unfortunately attracts (outside of the cordão ) many the same ilk. That is no reason not to see Olodum “go out” (as they say here) though because the music and drumming are excellent and the float (with African-attired dancers) is beautiful. Just be careful if you get caught up in the crowd.
As Muquiranas (a pretty good translation of "muquirana" would be "bar slut") look like the ugliest group of women you've ever seen! Big, strong, hairy men in miniskirts and lipstick, parading together or hanging around in small groups blowing kisses at other men. It's all in fun though, and these guys aren't gay nor would they be caught dead like this any other time of the year. The inspiration for their dress and behavior originally came from the houses of ill-repute in an area (Gameleira) adjacent to their neighborhood (Preguiça, from the Ladeira de Preguiça; preguiça is "lazy", and a ladeira is a sloping street) just off of Praça Castro Alves. * In 2007 the "Muquis" paraded as...Cat Women! Filhos de Gandhy, the “Sons of Gandhy” (as in Mahatma) are an afoxé group and one of the pillars of Carnival in Bahia. Many of the members join this group less out of reverence for the great Indian leader than because the group's attire is considered very attractive to women here in Salvador. The participants play a rhythm called ijexá -- beautiful and calming -- and they spray spectators along the parade route with perfume. They have a guy who plays the role of Gandhy and really looks the part. This results in the occasional extremely odd appearance of Matahma Gandhi hanging out in Pelourinho having a smoke and a drink! (Raimundo Queiroz Lima -- the Brazilian "Ghandy" mentioned above -- passed away on March 17th, 2006. He was a good man and a beautiful symbol, and is sorely missed in both capacities.)
Expresso 2222 isn't a bloco, it's a trio. And it's not just any trio, it's Brazil's Minister of Culture's trio (Brazil's Minister of Culture is the great Gilberto Gil , in case you didn't know!).
Alerta Geral ("General Alert", kind of like "All Points Bulletin") is a bloco devoted to samba (in contrast to the majority of the axé music blocos). They parade to really top-notch music (Fundo do Quintal, Jorge Aragão, etc.) and wear malandro-type straw fedoras. They are muito, muito legal (very, very cool). Founder (and Salvador bamba) Nelson Rufino has since gone on to found another samba bloco -- Amor e Paixão.
The Police Carnival is heavily policed. Stands with five or six seated police officers are erected everywhere and the streets are constantly patrolled by police groups moving in single file. These patrols cut through Carnival crowds like Moses through the Red Sea, and this is good. The downside is that if a patrol approaches you from behind and you are not aware of it you may find yourself shoved out of the way, or worse yet, poked in the back with a nightstick. That'll get you to clear the way fast! The upside to all this is that the police cut down on a lot of violence, usually arriving quickly to break up the fights which are not so infrequent during Carnival. In one way things are better than they used to be: It used to be that when the police broke up a fight, or caught a thief, a bloody beating was in order. This seldom happens nowadays, and it is our suspicion that part of this change in behavior is due to the fact that most of the patols include one woman in their number. This seems to inhibit the more violent tendencies of the men. |
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