Styles by state



Rio de Janeiro
  The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is a world famous festival held before Lent every year and considered the biggestcarnival in the world with two million people per day on the streets. The first festivals of Rio date back to 1723.
  In the late 19th century, the cordões (literally "cords", laces or strings in Portuguese) were introduced in Rio de Janeiro. These were pageant groups that paraded through city avenues performing on instruments and dancing. Today they are known as Carnaval blocos (blocks), consisting of a group of people who dress in costumes or special T-shirts with themes and/or logos. Blocos are generally associated with particular neighborhoods; they include both a percussion or music group and an entourage of revelers. They eventually became the "fathers" of what everyone today knows as the famous and internationally renowned samba-schools in Brazil. Samba-schools (not only in Rio de Janeiro, but in São Paulo and several other cities) are the cultural epicenter of the Brazilian carnival, in terms of the "parading style". The first registered samba-school was called "Deixa-falar", but disappeared later and the first official samba-school contest happened in 1929, with only three groups, and "Oswaldo Cruz" group won the competition, with a samba written by Heitor dos Prazeres. GRES Estação Primeira de MangueiraGRES Estação Primeira de Mangueira Samba-School, represented by Cartola, and Estácio de Sá samba School, represented by Ismael Silva, were the other 2 contestants. Eventually, "Oswaldo Cruz" became, GRES Portela Samba School, the greatest winner of Rio's Carnival with 21 Titles. Although many Brazilians tend now to favor other forms of national music culture to that of Rio's samba schools, the carnival of Rio de Janeiro remains the national festival par excellence, and the samba of Rio de Janeiro continues to be an agent of national unification.

Carnaval blocos, also known as Blocos de Rua ("Street Blocks") occur in nearly every neighborhood throughout the city and metropolitan areas, but the most f amo us are th e ones in Copacabana, Ipanema,  Leblon,  Lagoa, Jardim Botânico, and in downtown Rio. Organizers often compose their own music themes that are added to the performance and singing of classic "marchinhas" and samba popular songs. "Cordão do bola preta" ("Polka Dot Bloco"), that goes through the heart of Rio's historical center, and "Suvaco do Cristo" (Christ's statue armpit, referring to the angle of the statue seen from the neighborhood), near the Botanical Garden, are some of the most famous groups. Monobloco has become so famous that it plays all year round at parties and small concerts.

     Bahia style

    There 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.

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. They also worship the gods of Candomblé, called orixás. An Electric Trio is characterized by a truck equipped with giant speakers and a platform where musicians play songs of local genres such as axé. People follow the trucks singing and dancing. The "Amerindian" groups were inspired by Western movies from the United States. The groups dress up as Native Americans and take on Native American names. Blocos Afros, or Afro groups, were influenced by the Black Pride Movement in the United States, independence movements in Africa, and reggae music that denounced racism and oppression. The groups inspired a renewed pride in African heritage.

Today, Bahia's carnival consists mostly of Trios Elétricos, but there are still Blocos Afros and Afoxês. Every year, about half a million tourists are attracted to Salvador. It's also possible to watch everything from the Camarotes (ringside seats) spread out along the way, offering more comfort to the visitors.

Other events are more closely related to carnival and happen a few days before this official opening. The most traditional is the nomination party of the Carnivals Queen and King Momo for that year. Moreover, the ensaios de carnaval (English: carnival rehearsals) have become a new tradition since the 1990s. Typically, these are private events with informal presentations from the artists that will perform in the carnival.
The official carnival opening in Salvador happens in the Thursday immediately before the Ash Wednesday. That is, it happens exactly one day before the traditional carnival calendar, on Friday. The anticipation happens for commercial reasons only. The opening ceremony follows the tradition as in the rest of Brazil: there is a ceremonyclass 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. They also worship the gods of Candomblé, called orixás. An Electric Trio is characterized by a truck equipped with giant speakers and a platform where musicians play songs of local genres such as axé. People follow the trucks singing and dancing. The "Amerindian" groups were inspired by Western movies from the United States. The groups dress up as Native Americans and take on Native American names. Blocos Afros, or Afro groups, were influenced by the Black Pride Movement in the United States, independence movements in Africa, and reggae music that denounced racism and oppression. The groups inspired a renewed pride in African heritage.

Today, Bahia's carnival consists mostly of Trios Elétricos, but there are still Blocos Afros and Afoxês. Every year, about half a million tourists are attracted to Salvador. It's also possible to watch everything from the Camarotes (ringside seats) spread out along the way, offering more comfort to the visitors.

Other events are more closely related to carnival and happen a few days before this official opening. The most traditional is the nomination party of the Carnivals Queen and King Momo for that year. Moreover, the ensaios de carnaval (English: carnival rehearsals) have become a new tradition since the 1990s. Typically, these are private events with informal presentations from the artists that will perform in the carnival.
The official carnival opening in Salvador happens in the Thursday immediately before the Ash Wednesday. That is, it happens exactly one day before the traditional carnival calendar, on Friday. The anticipation happens for commercial reasons only. The opening ceremony follows the tradition as in the rest of Brazil: there is a ceremony where the city major gives a symbolic key of the city to the King Momo, who declares that carnival celebrations are officially opened. Parades happen already in the Thursday early evening. The parades and other events happen during the six official days of carnival for an average of 16 hours a day. The parade order for the blocks is defined by the city municipality to start and to finish, and delays may result in fines. The components of a block have a predefined meeting time in the beginning of their, called concentração (English: concentration). After the parade ends its official track, the trio elétricos go to a special place called dispersão (English: dispersion), where there is no longer separation between member of the block and the audience. It is not infrequently that artists that where playing in the parade extend there their presentations at the dispersion area.