Carnaval in Brazil

[Mate Oriental]

The girl in this shot is the same "passista" of the first photo.

[Mate Oriental]

Carnaval in Rio funs,

Here are more pictures of the "ensaio" in Salgueio samba school.

I'm posting here in this section because it feets better the topic than posting in the photograph section.

[Mate Oriental]

Two years ago I went to Rio in Carnaval and I went to the Sambodromo to see one of my favorites "scola de samba" Mangueira win.

One of the most incredible experiences of my life. Dancing, singing and drinking with de crowd.

This time I couldn´t go, but I was there in December and went to see an “ensaio” held by the Salgueiro samba school.

I’ve attached a photo showing some of the “passistas”.

I’ve not met these girl in the picture but I want to share with all of you guys what I saw.

[Ceylon1]

Silent & Others

15 visits to "Cidade Maravilhosa" & never felt any danger - but must add that I never went to a favela.

I am a South Asian-American of average height & size. Senior citizen with 2 major heart surgery - so will be unable to run or fight in case of danger.

But I have been to the cheapo "Casa's" in Rio's Centro alone & without much Poruguese language skills - everytime, I have been treated very well.

99% of the Brasilian people are very hospitable & friendly, specially to foreigners. Strangers helped me, when I travelled by bus between cities & also on a boat on the Amazon.
It is only the 1% criminal element - mainly due to poverty - who target the tourists.
Yes, there are crime & violent crime - just like in any other city worldwide - dont show your $$$ & take the usual precautions.

Muito obrigardo to all for feeding the street kids.
Image all the food thrown away daily in the USA.
My 1st visit to Rio - took some local kids to the McDonalds on Rua Copacabana, behind the Debret Hotel - the joy on their faces was worth more than $$$.
Now, at a restraurant, I always ask for a "doggie" bag & then hand it to a street person.

I wear sneakers, but if an shoeshine boy comes along as I am sipping a Coconut on Ave Atlantico, I give him coins or a Reals.

Why ??, life has been good to me & even some of us mongers do have a heart.

Ceylon1 ( WorldTraveller aka Charles )

[BM Rio]

Silent,

Glad to hear you enjoyed Carnaval and are planning to come back next year. Carnaval in Salvador is excellent as well but a different type of experience. More geared to Axé local pop music (although some singers like Margereth Menezes are fantastic), mixed with parades by Afro-Brazilian cultural groups like Filhos de Gandhy, Olodum and Ilê Aiye.

In Rio for the popular experience try to get tickets for Sector 1 which are distributed to samba schools for their members although some get sold usually by touts. This is where the schools form up and salute their supporters before entering the Sambódromo. The only problem with Sectors 6 and 13 is these are at the end of the parade where the dancers are tired and looking to disperse quickly to prevent bunching up and loss of points.

Parading with a school is quite an experience and the costumes are not very expensive in dollar or euro terms. As well as the 14 schools of the “grupo especial” special group which parade on the Sunday and Monday there are the schools of “grupo de acesso” access group which parade on the other nights with fierce competition to win a place in the grupo especial or the next higher grupo de acesso. Costumes are cheaper and there will be fewer tourists (mainly from São Paulo) than in the schools of the grupo especial.

Some good schools (as well as those I mentioned in my previous post) that are close to Centro and Zona Sul are Acadêmicos da Rocinha whose “quadra” hall is in São Conrado rather than in the favela; Unidos da Tijuca whose quadra is near the Rodoviária Novo Rio main bus station; Estácio de Sá whose quadra is near the Sambódromo and Paraíso do Tuiuti whose “quadra” is in São Cristóvão near the Feira do Nordeste northeastern fair pavilion.

[Cutting Edge]

Silent, you can never buy friends, you win them.

Like you said, those people network but there is no honour amoungst thieves. If word gets around that there is an American walking around with $$$, gold and diamonds in his pockets , you never know if you are going to be set up. You may also get attention from the cops if you become too conspicuous, especially when entering/leaving favelas where they may assume you've been to buy drugs.

[Sperto]

Silent,
I hope you will enjoy your Carnaval in Bahia next year.
Don´t try walking in the Salvador Carnaval with your gold chain, your pinky ring and your nice watch (or anything else in your pockets). You will lose it for sure.
Your size, colour or toughness won´t matter.

[Silent]

Sorry for turning this into a "safety" thing, I just found it amazing that people ran into all these problems, but I guess it's true enough about street cred also.

It's a natural and human thing to do, when your money goes so far, and they've got none, to help someone get something to eat.

Carnival was AMAZING though. The Sambadrome is an experience that i'd recommend EVERYONE have. Watching how much life the Samba Schools gave to the people was just amazing.

Wanting the true Carnival Experience, we passed on sitting in the Camarotes, and figured we'd sit in Sector 13 with the regular folk because from previous reports, we heard that's where the true meaning of Carnival is shown.

They were right, the regular folk (non-snobby) were the life of the party. When Salgueiro Samba School got announced and the fireworks began to go off, my god, I have never seen or heard so many screaming and cheering people in my life... it was as if the entire stadium turned RED AND WHITE.

I had ONE HELL of a time.

I'm going to Bahia to scout in May, because I think I will be attending Carnival in Bahia next year, since it's more of a street oriented carnival and anyone can participate.

Ff not, i'm going to certainly pay the $500 or whatever to march with one of the schools in the Sambadrome next year in Rio!

[Tomb]

Guys:

Dunno how a Carnaval discussion turned into one about safety in RIo but whatver, let's go with the flow.

Glad you all had good experiences in Rio. As you found out, "safety" and how people treat you in Rio (as is true in the rest of the world) is ALL about street "cred". If you walk down the street like you know what you are doing and you own the place, you are already 99% ahead of the game. Doesn't matter if you are white, black or blue (I have a very good friend who is chinese and 5'2", but people BACK AWAY from him just by the way he walks and looks at you). Of course, let's be honest, being black helps in that you are not instantly marked as a gringo, people do a double-take. Can't believe your gold chains didn't get snatched, though! I guess it's kind of like when I take my white ass to Washington Heights (NY) - the bangers figure I'm either crazy as shit or packing a howitzer, so they leave me alone. Still, along with a street face and the right attitude, do keep your eyes open when rolling around Rio.... it's no different from the street anywhere else, really.

BTW, you did the right thing with the street kids in more ways than one. Besides being "good karma", they are part of a "network" - the street kids are the spotters for the local pickpockets, etc - they keep an eye on the marks and steer the other guys to them. So by getting a good "rep", the kids let it be known throughout the neighborhood that you are "good people" and not to hassle you. (Whenever I settle in at an apartment or house for more than just a few days, I always make sure to get friendly with the local beggars, street kids, sidewalk vendors, etc.. I watch out for them, they watch out for me). Anway, I'm not suggesting that everyone "pay off" all the street kids, it's impossible, and just shows that you've got LOTS of money, so you're a target. I'm just saying don't be an asshole.

Well, it's really good to see some Americans go to Rio and go out of their way to be part of the "scene" instead of teh typicla "ugly American." Thanks for showing how it's done!

Abraco,

Tom B.

[Three I]

When I went to Brazil in 1998 all of my white Brazilian friends were so scared of everyting and they got me scared too! But I am a black American guythe is 6 foot 3 inches 240 at the time and I had no problems When I spoke English to many Brazilian s white or black the mood changed for the better!

PM me bro if you want to exchange experiences!

Also only whites are gringos keep your street face on playa!

[Rezza]

I have also never felt threatend and always had good experiences, even with the kids, as long as you give them a couple of R$ for carrying those huge umberellas for you which is a bargain or just give them 1R$ anyway :-) BUT, I also think having such a build and weight is definitly a BIG advantage.

[GabrielPontello]

silent,
I felt the same as you in Rio even if I'm not so tall and big
me and my buddy also paid some food for the kids that hang around the av. princesa isabela in copa and since then they've been our best friends

[Silent]

Okay, I may not have much insight, but I am no more than 24 hours removed from the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

I am a black male, some 6 foot 4 inches tall, about 252 pounds, and I don't think I have a very menacing look, but others may assume that.

I walked the streets of Rio with relative ease, I wore a gold chain, with a diamond encrusted charm, a pinky ring, and a nice watch by American standards.

I had NO PROBLEM out of the ppl of Rio de Janeiro. After reading some of the forums here, and others online, it amazed me that ppl ran into so much trouble in these places.

I virtually hung out in Leblon, in Leme, in and around Club "6" (not sure of the area), hell, I even ventured into (supposedly dreaded) Vidigal Favella with a female friend of my buddies female friend. We went in there 3 black american males, and 2 women from the favella, and the ppl were NICER IN THE DAM FAVELLA, than they were on the streets of Copacabana. Now what's wrong with this picture?

I think a lot of people are painting wrong pictures of Rio and it's people. I can honestly say that I NEVER felt threatened at any time, leaving clubs drunk, getting in taxi's, walking the streets of Copacabana after 3 and 4 AM, even walking around after being in the Sambadrome, where there were hudreds of thousands of brazilians on the street. No one once attempted to pick pocket me, no one once attempted to grab my digital camera, no one once attempted to show me a gun, nor knife to rob me.

Nothing. I got a false sense of security after awhile, hell, I started believinng I could just walk anywhere.

Now, this is not to say that I didn't get looks from some people on the streets, and also, ALOT OF WOMEN were trying to warn me, (speaking in broken english coupled with portuguese), alot of them would tell me to put my chain in my shirt and take off my ring, and put my camera away, but nothing ever happened, and I never tucked my jewelry.

I ran into a few white guys who someone had ATTEMPTED to snatch one of their cameras, but they were able to get it back from the guy, but I didn't see no such crime, or mishap.

Now, I did witness a body in the middle of the road, but not from any act of violence, from a car accident in Ipanema, that's about the most crime I saw the whole time while I was in Brazil, LOL

I will say, that kids are very pestering, but they can be warded off with a simple "Nao Obrigado!" said very loudly and directly, and sometimes you have may have to give them a very stern look for them to get the message.

At one point, me and 3 of my buddies rounded up about 8 little boys and 2 little girls who were working as a team begging and selling, and we took them to this barbecue buffet place in Leme, and the guys at the door looked at us like we were fools, until we pulled out American Dollars and said "Can we have a table for 13 please!!".

The kids (only one of whom spoke broken english) were VERY thankful, and every time we saw them for the rest of the trip, they gave us chiclets, and always wanted to stop and talk to us, and laugh with us. I found that to be very welcoming.

the vendors are no bother, there are way to deal with them. Also, my line of the week, when someone tried to sell me something was (my typing of the portuguese language is AWFUL so please pay it no mind, you'll understand what i'm saying, and I'm assuming I said it correctly to them, because they would stop trying to push it on me).

I used to always say "eu tenhu dois e mi apartamento". "I have two in my apartment".

The kids can rush you in numbers either begging for handouts, or trying to sell you chiclets, but as long as you're civil with them, even if you have to say no about 15 times b4 they leave you alone, they are not a big obstacle.

The Brazilian Men are so small, that I never really viewed any of them as a threat. Despite all the "gunplay" that alot of you have spoke about here on this board, I never saw a gun the whole time there, other than on the hips of a few of the police officers.

The most words I got from Brazilian Men was "hello" in Portuguese.

The garotas told stories of gringos being robbed at gunpoint, but I guess I was a "lucky gringo" that week.

My next trip to Fortaleza, Bahia, or Recife in May, I will research it and see if people speak the same negativity about these places, and assess the situation likewise.

EDITOR's NOTE: Posting of this report was delayed pending revisions to remove the multiple periods throughout the text. To avoid delays in future reports, please consider using a comma to separate the phrases in your sentences and a single period at the end of each sentence. Thanks!

[BM Rio]

Wow no one seems very interested in this topic so far which is a shame. From the posts I’ve read in other sections Carnaval appears to be considered as nothing more than a period with higher prices and lower service. I however enjoy the parades of the samba schools and like to attend their “ensaios” (rehearsal sessions / parties) held in the months beforehand.

As well as the rich culture and local community spirit there is also the attraction of beautiful women dressed in revealing costumes dancing in a manner that tells you they are going to be dynamite in bed! It’s not impossible to meet them either apart from the actresses and celebrities who are used by the schools to attract media attention. Whilst you’ll find some “passistas” (dancers) working the Copacabana bars, clubs and discos for the usual going rate, you’ll also find some who wouldn’t be seen dead in these places but are still open to a foreign boyfriend/lover. Remember that the “passistas” are considered the beauties of the school and there are plenty of other men including some of the directors and composers who are interested in them or already their husbands, boyfriends or lovers.

Just to give the doubtful an idea of what I’m talking about I’ve attached a press photo showing some of the “passistas” at an “ensaio” held by the Tradição samba school in Madureira. Whilst I’ve not met these girls in the picture I have met plenty like them from other schools around the city.

The most popular schools visited by tourists are Mangueira and Salgueiro both within easy reach by taxi and in relatively safe areas. Grande Rio also tends to hold some rehearsals at Club Monte Líbano in Leblon to attract those not prepared to travel to Duque de Caxias which is neither close, attractive nor safe. If you want to be one of the few foreigners in the crowd then the smaller schools such as those in the access groups are the ones to visit. There are some in Zona Sul such as Alegria de Zona Sul and Unidos de Vila Rica in Copacabana as well as São Clemente in Botafogo (whose quadra is on Avenida Presidente Vargas near the Sambódromo).

During the parades themselves access to the Sambódromo is very expensive but worthwhile as it is an incredible and beautiful experience to watch. For those not willing to pay for overpriced tickets from touts or keen on sitting in the rain on uncomfortable concrete steps then a walk around the concentração (forming up area) is also very interesting. This year I remember seeing the bizarre sight of an Arab tourist in full traditional dress wandering around hand in hand with his Brazilian female companion! Here you can look at the ornate “carros alegóricos” (floats), see the colourful costumes and visit the Terreirão de Samba, an open air dancehall with many women looking for men to enjoy carnaval with. Remember however that this is working class Rio and fights break out very quickly with the occasional stabbing or shooting.

Add to all of this the many “blocos” and “bandas” that party all over Zona Sul makes it worthwhile getting out there during Carnaval with many good options for meeting local women. After all if you don’t meet anyone interesting you can just go back to Avenida Atlântica or your favourite “terma” for the sure thing.

[Admin]

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