Society & Culture
A short, impromptu episode about Carnaval that grew longer than I intended. It covers the origins of the holiday and its history in Brazil including the differences between Rio's Carnaval and how Carnaval is celebrated further north in cities such as Salvador.Terms used in the podcast:ala - wing or section, a section of a Carnaval processionaxé - a popular fusion music style developed in the 80s that quickly made its way into Carnaval.Bacchus - the Roman god of wine and drinkingbateria - the drum sectionbloco - block, as in a group not a city blockcapoeira - an Afro-Brazilian martial art famous for its kicks and acrobaticscarnaval - Portuguese for Carnivalcarnavalesco - the person in the school with overall responsibility for that school's Carnaval preparationscarro alegórico - literally, allegorical car, a float.Dionysus - the Greek god of wine and drinkingEntrudo - a pagan festival celebrated in Spring in Portugal and Spain that was the precursor to Carnaval in Brazilfrevo - a fast past musical style associated with Carnaval in the north, played on wind instrumentsmaracatu - a mid tempo music associated with Carnaval in the north, played on drumsmestre-sala - the "room master", position in a samba procession whose job it is to honor and direct attention to the porta-bandeiraporta-bandeira - the woman who carries the flag of the samba school in its processionpasso - the capoeira-based dance of frevorainha de bateria - the queen of the drum, the dancer who leads the percussion section of a Carnaval processionSalvador - the capital of the state of Bahiasamba - the most common dance style associated with Carnaval, especially in the south.Saturn - A Roman god with many associations, but relevant to spring festivals are renewal and timeSanturnalia - a spring festival that honored Saturntrio eléctico - a soundstage on wheels MediaAs promised in the podcast, I've including some photos as well as links to some videos.Carros alégoricosPhoto by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Photo by Boneysp Photo by Léo Pinheiro Trio elétricosAn undecorated trio elétrico (photo by Tennessee7). A trio elétrico decorated and in action (photo by Wmourac).FrevoPasso, just a little physically demanding. Yep. (Photo by Andre bispo.)MaracatuA small Maracatu block procession. A traditional Maracatu dance. (Photo by Pcoke.)VideosA typical Frevo street performance in Recife (the capital of the state of Pernambuco)."Learn Frevo dancing for Carnaval", in Portuguese, but it's dance, so it's the visuals that matter.Brilliant Star Maracatu Nation procession in Carnaval 2012 in Recife.A clip from the 20 year anniversary DVD of the Pernambuco Maracatu NationBrilliant Star Maracatu Nation in Recife's Carnaval, 2009And, in the category of "who knew they had not just Carnaval that far north, but frevo too", the Helsinki Samba Carnaval 2008 - Sambic Frevo dancing performace