Rio during Carnaval: Who's Been at This Time?

[+ Axiom2001]

After I returned from Rio a few weeks ago, my very good friend discussed with me the possibility of going there during Carnaval.

I know it is vibrant during this time as well as price "inflated", but what is the overall atmosphere-- the beach, the saunas, etc.?

If you have been there during this particular time, please respond. I think from what you write will be the determining factor for my joining him. I plan to return to this land of "paradise", as some of our correspondents have dubbed it, in the fall-- March or April or May even. (...hope the months for this season are correct.)

[trilingual]

Yes, fall begins on March 21, when spring begins in the northern hemisphere.

 

Carnival is late in 2003, with Ash Wednesday falling in the first week of March, so in Rio the madness will be going big time starting the Friday before.

 

What's it like? Fun, if you like crowds and commotion. Usually Carnival happens earlier in February, which along with January, is a summer school holiday month. That's one reason why that's the high season, when the city is particularly vibrant. The beaches will be full every day, not just on weekends. It'll also be hot, and people will be wearing as little as they can get away with! From New Year's onward, Carnival fever takes over, as the entire country begins gearing up for the big event. Samba school rehearsels pick up in intensity and frequency, parties and street carnival parades start happening, especially on weekends. On Carnival weekend, the big Rio parades run from dusk to dawn both Saturday and Sunday nights. In some ways they've become commercial "Hollywood-style" super productions, but up close and personal at the Sambódromo the parades are an unforgettable experience. They're also broadcast live on one of the national networks, so what you don't see in person, you can catch on the tube at your hotel.

 

Carnival happens other places, too. The best Carnival in the south is in Florianopolis, which is at it's peak of general delightfulness in the summertime. Floripa is on the island of Santa Catarina, separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. The island is fairly large, somewhat mountainous, with numerous communities and something like 40-odd beaches, a number of which are "world-class." Floripa is a popular resort for people from São Paulo, Curitiba and points south, as well as for Argentines, who more or less take over certain beach communities like Canasvieiras.

 

Carnival in Salvador and Recife/Olinda are just as big a deal as the celebration in Rio, but less "commercial" and more street oriented. As long as you don't mind crowds and aren't claustrophobic, Carnival can be a wonderful time to visit Brazil!

[Guest fukamarine]

>After I returned from Rio a few weeks ago, my very good

>friend discussed with me the possibility of going there

>during Carnaval.

>I know it is vibrant during this time as well as price

>"inflated", but what is the overall atmosphere-- the beach,

>the saunas, etc.?

>If you have been there during this particular time, please

>respond. I think from what you write will be the determining

>factor for my joining him. I plan to return to this land of

>"paradise", as some of our correspondents have dubbed it, in

>the fall-- March or April or May even. (...hope the months

>for this season are correct.)

 

Does the street and bar scene get as raunchy as Mardi Gras in N.O.?

 

fukamarine

[trilingual]

>Does the street and bar scene get as raunchy as Mardi Gras in N.O.?

 

Almost, but not quite. At least not in Rio. The physical layout is different, and they don't have a million people milling around an area of narrow streets like the French Quarter. Still, it's VERY festive, especially beginning the Friday before Fat Tuesday when everything starts grinding to a halt and Carnival fever completely takes over. Because of the parades being channeled into the Sambódromo, where you have to pay admission to sit in the boxes/grandstands to watch the spectacle, "street carnival" took a fairly big hit in Rio. In the past couple of years, though, the city has been focusing on reviving street carnival. In Ipanema, it's been strong for quite a while, because of the "Banda de Ipanema," which is a highly informal outfit that sponsors street carnival processions beginning several weekends before the climax. There's a brass samba band, "do-it-yourself" floats, costumes, etc. Everybody who wants to party just shows up at the assembly point and then the whole shebang pushes off (late, of course, this being a Latin affair) and the entire moveable party marches off, meandering through the streets of Ipanema. This is all fueled by plenty of beer, cachaça and other substances. Frequently the "Banda de Ipanema" is followed up by the très gay "Banda de Carmen Miranda." Samba school rehearsals, which gear up seriously after New Year's, can be hot, sweaty, jammed and full of possibilities. You can also ask a local about the "Elite Clube" downtown; if the pre-Carnival heavily gay Friday night festivities are still going on it's a real Carioca experience. For those familiar with New Orleans, think of a Preservation Hall type of place (upstairs in an old building over a funeral parlor) with samba and dancing instead of jazz. This is someplace you need to go accompanied by a local because of the neighborhood and language issues. It's big-time fun, though. By the time the place really gets going, with everyone well-oiled on beer and cachaça, the whole building seems to be swaying. If you want a sense of old-time Rio, before Carnival got so commercialized, this is the place!

 

In Florianopolis, Salvador and Recife/Olinda, Carnival is less commercialized and much more of a street affair, although there are also marches and parades. These resemble the New Orleans Carnival somewhat more, in my opinion. Wherever you are in Brazil, though, during Carnival "anything goes," and lots of gorgeous "straight" guys will do stuff, in the Carnival spirit, that they wouldn't do the rest of the year. So if you crowds and partying are your thing, Carnival in Brazil isn't to be missed!

[trilingual]

P.S. - The bars and bath houses certainly get more frenzied at Carnival. It's the peak of the high season, so Rio is packed with visitors as well as locals, and the bars and saunas will be full. They'll also be having Carnival events of their own, and I'm sure there'll be more than enough "raunch" and madness going on to keep anyone entertained.

 

Brazilian Carnival is worth the experience. Think of the possibilities when an ENTIRE COUNTRY of 175,000,000 people goes into party mode! Carnival isn't just an isolated local phenomenon, like in the U.S. where it's really only a part of the culture in Louisiana and the nearby Gulf Coast. In Brazil, the entire nation gets into it. In fact, some places like Carnival so much they have "re-runs," and there are some famous out-of-season Carnivals, mostly in some of the smaller cities in the interior. (That way they can go to the big event in a place like Salvador or Recife and still get down 'n' dirty back home!)

 

In that way, Brazilians and Louisianians are alike. They love to party, and any excuse will do. Having a hurricane? Holding an election? Bounce the rent check? Break out the booze, costumes and music and get doooowwwwn!!! }>

[Guest 7Zach]

nowhere near the same as no.

is very different, but i think a lot of that is that the maj of people in brazil have more manners than the ones going to mardi gras. seriously.

costumes are very pretty, but i like better the floats and costumes for the most part in new orleans. however, in ipanema, the street costumes were great, and the costume balls were better than n.o. overall. and the naked guys just dressed in body paint were something. same thing for the drags - prettiest drags i have ever seen. and in photos of carnival, some of the magazines misidentified the drags as women, and it's easy to do. and this with the scant rio costumes.

it's worth seeing once or even more, but it is not the wild and crazy thing in new orleans. and doesn't seem as crowded cuz the streets are bigger, and the festival is more spread out. for instance, went to the main samba parade the weekend before carnival, and again on monday night - was but a 20 minute ride by taxi.

[trilingual]

If you like wall-to-wall crowd scenes, try being at Praça Castro Alves in Salvador during Carnival. I think it'll satisfy any needs in that area! It's true, in Rio things are more spread out, and the main parade site is in an otherwise non-descript part of town.

 

It's also, true, I think about Brazilian "manners" at Carnival. Much of the crowd in New Orleans is made up of repressed fundamentalists from other parts of the South who specifically come to New Orleans to get drunk and be obnoxious. (Real New Orleanians watch all this with a mixture of bemusement/pity/disgust.) Brazilians, coming from a Latin culture, rarely drink to get drunk, even at Carnival. They just want to get sufficiently cheerful to have a good time. This probably explains why you see so few public drunks at Carnival, and people are generally better behaved. Also, in New Orleans the street drinkers are mainly just standing around, drinking! In Brazil, people in Carnival situations are usually marching or dancing or both, so they get more chance to burn off the alcohol they've consumed. Of course, there's more than alcohol involved. But mostly, this means smoking a joint or two, and you rarely run into an aggressive pothead! :-)

[+ Axiom2001]

Obrigado, men! The information is most valuable and will justify my joining my friend. If anyone else wishes to relay his "take" on this special event--I all for the givers...