InaSensualFrenzy
Brazilian Carnival in the ‚Sambódromo‘
in São Paulo - a photo documentary
A contest between the
samba schools from São
Paulo. In the Sambadrome, specially
constructed for this contest, different schools compete against one
another.
"You can buy a costume and
traipse along in the Sambadrome wearing it. It will cost you 400 Reais.
You have to be present for the rehearsal though," offered
Dona Adeilda from the samba school Vai-Vai in the Italian quarters
Bixiga in São Paulo.
"This
year, we have four
different football costumes: France, Germany and Italy, the fourth one,
I cannot remember it just yet."
The
samba school seemed to me like a club with a
huge but plain games hall: Plastic tables and plastic chairs lie
scattered around, a couple of people are eating out of plastic plates
or drinking soft drinks; there is no alcohol during the week. A samba
school is not a dance school; rather it serves the exclusive purpose of
organizing the carnival parade. Photography of costumes on display in
front of the hall is strictly prohibited before the actual carnival.
For questions, pictures and information about the new programme,
journalists must contact the Press Department of the samba school. That
sounds very professional indeed – Vai-Vai is after all one of
the biggest samba schools of São Paulo and has won the
contest more frequently than any other samba school in the city, a sort
of ‘record-holding champion’! The members of the
school can eat here for only 3.50 Reais, which is equivalent to about
€1.50, there is rice with beans and chicken. There is not a
trace of samba, good mood and bare skin. That is only on Saturday
evenings, when the lyrics for new samba music will once again be
rehearsed.
Football costume
‘France’ of the samba
school Vai-Vai
For the members of the samba school, it is a question of
honour, for some of them it is the fulfillment of a dream, to walk in
the Sambadrome, the special stadium constructed specifically for the
carnival parade, for their school and their district, to participate
wearing a costume, to dance and to celebrate together, perhaps even
contributing to a victory! The participants await this mega event the
entire year with feverish eagerness. Many of them save for a long time
so that they are able to afford the most magnificent costume
– the Brazilians nicely call them
‘fantasias’.
A
dense atmosphere in the sold-out Sambadrome. The theme is
‘Conquista’, the discovery and conquest of Latin
America. In the
towers are
the members of the Jury, who will judge the performance.
'Fantasias' in
the Sambadrome in São Paulo
Every
year the samba schools choose a new theme and implement it according to
their capabilities and in compliance with the guidelines set by the
carnival association. An Executive Committee of the school plans the
performances in meticulous detail for the next year, naturally in
accordance with the fixed theme – from the dance and
choreography, artistic expression, technology to the lovingly processed
details of the fantasias.
The enormous carnival floats are decorated in line with the theme. The
melody of the samba music (samba-enredo) ¬is newly composed and
lyrics are written in tune with the chosen theme. It is important that
only new music is played in the Sambadrome, music that has never been
publicly heard before. The sub-topics are also fixed and after that the
different costumes are planned, designed, engineered and stitched
– hundreds of them. The synergic interplay of the thousands
of participants is merged together and rehearsed: dance, rhythm,
choreography, presentation, pace of movement etc.
The enormous floats showcase the
incredibly plastic motifs - this could also be a painting from Paul
Gaugin!
The performance in the Sambadrome costs
a lot of money and the schools obtain the funds through different
sources: from the sale of costumes, revenues generated from the
rehearsals and sponsorships. Above all, the money is sourced from the
association, which collects the entrance fees and markets this
extravaganza well. A samba school is thus an important client as well
as an employer within a district, it provides a lot of employment
opportunities. The samba schools of the greater districts of
São Paulo celebrate the carnival in the Sambadrome together.
Primarily however, they compete against each other in contests. Behind
this extravaganza hides a fierce rivalry between the schools. Each
performance is watched live by five jurors and then stringently judged.
In this evaluation, points are given for the music and the percussion,
costumes, the flag-bearer and the dancers, as also for the
choreography, quality of the artistic implementation of the theme and
for the synergistic performance of the school overall. Also, the total
duration of the performance around the 530-meter long track in the
Sambadrome, known as the pista, should be neither less than 65 minutes
nor exceed the 85-minute limit. Up to 4000 proud, happy and partly
enraptured participants per samba school, dance, sing and celebrate to
the uninterrupted thunderous and demanding rhythm of the drums and
samba through the night – it is just simply an intoxication
of senses, colours and sounds – and that too for three nights
long!
The carnival in the Sambadrome in
São Paulo begins on the Friday before Ash Wednesday and
continues through the night of Sunday into Monday morning with 22 samba
schools competing against one another. Although the parade is
broadcasted live with commentary on television, the effect of
experiencing it in person in the samba stadium cannot be overstated.
For the last several years, in the competition between the samba
schools, two titles have been bestowed. One, in the ‘Group of
Special Samba Schools’ (Especial das Escolas de Samba) and
the other in the ‘Group of Samba Schools from the Football
Club’ (Grupo Especial das Escolas de Samba Desportivas). The
second prize relates to the liaison between the samba school and the
football club; for example the samba school ‘Mancha
Verde’ belongs to the Football Club
‘Plameiras’ or the Samba school
‘Gaviões da Fiel’ belongs to the
Football Club ‘Corinthians’.
The highly
charged atmosphere is contagious
It's an
intoxication of the senses, colours and movement
The performance can also be
rather strenuous
The biggest samba schools in São Paulo bear names such as
Rosas de Ouro, Vai-Vai, Camisa Verde e Branco or Mocidade Alegre. The
sequence of the performances of the samba schools in the stadium is a
highly political issue. Therefore lots are drawn for it, and this draw
is celebrated just like a huge samba festival by the Association of the
Samba Schools.
The result is awaited with great excitement, because it has an indirect
effect on the evaluation and chances of victory. The members of the
jury often restrain from giving the highest points to the samba schools
that enter first. Moreover, the participants of the schools positioned
towards the end of the performance tend to get tired. Additionally, the
atmosphere is also entirely different when it starts to turn bright
again. In the stands of the Sambadrome designed by the star architect
Oscar Niemeyer there is seating for about 30,000 spectators.
The parade in this arena always begins at 22:00 hours in the night and
lasts till 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning every day of the festival. The
counting of the points begins on Ash Wednesday and the victory gala of
the victorious samba school is celebrated extensively with fireworks
and festivities. All of it is broadcasted live on television.
This and the next four photos
are captured with a ‘Lensbaby-lens’
For a simple seat in the stands above, a Paulistano pays anywhere
between €30 and €65 after conversion. For a reserved
seat in
the front in the pista he must fork out between €90 and
€190.
Besides, down below in the pista big tables and spectator boxes can
also be rented out for big groups, which cost a few thousand Euros per
night. In the week prior to the Carnival, the samba schools rehearse
their performances directly in the Sambadrome. The occupancy and
reservation of the stadium is planned a month in advance through the
samba schools.
Although the enormous floats are not included in the rehearsals, the
coordination of the thousands of participants, dancers, musicians and
percussionists is a logistical challenge for all involved. On one side,
the various groups from every school rehearse their steps,
choreographies and the artistic interludes. On the other hand, the
individual performances of these groups are coordinated to appear as
one, and the movement of the dances is brought forward in unison. This
enables the entire performance to progress harmoniously and be
completed within the stipulated time frame. Also, the new Samba music
is rehearsed again, so that everyone in the Sambadrome can hear the
fervent reverberation of the chorus.
Behind all that hides much more
than just the quintessential party mood
At nights in the Sambadrome during the parade, it is as good
as a party. Time passes by without anyone realizing it. The constantly
changing, thousand-fold impression of the fanciful costumes, the
colours and themes, the people, the thunderous rhythm and singing,
diminish the night into one single, short moment of limitless
infectious festivities, and then suddenly it turns bright, as if the
day wishes to stop the revelry – nevertheless the
celebrations
continue into the day - nothing can disturb the Here and Now.
But behind all that fun and freedom, behind all the competitiveness of
the samba schools, hides much more than just the quintessential
Brazilian party mood. This is particularly clear when one sees the old,
the frail and the disabled walking along and singing fervently, dancing
or being pushed along. The carnival transcends social boundaries to
bring people together. In addition to its economic significance, the
samba schools fulfill in their own way, an important, historically
developed social and cultural role in their district and in the entire
city. Similarly, the carnival marks an important event in the calendar
year; one adjusts schedules ‘before’ and
‘after’ the event.
In
São Paulo there are in total about 200 carnival associations
– samba schools and carnival guilds. Besides the traditional
parades of the big samba schools in the Sambadrome, the carnival in
São Paulo covers a large part of the city. In some districts
the
carnival guilds (blocos) move with their drums and marching bands
specifically for those in the cordoned-off streets.
Also, here loud and hot samba rhythms set the tone. Street vendors take
the opportunity to sell ice-cold beer, soft drinks or just water. The
guilds are organized and bear names such as Bloco Bastardo, Samba do
Gringo Doido or Ilu Obá de Min. The latter, for example,
comprises only of women with African influences working in Brazil.
Unfortunately the next day in the Sambadrome sometime around 9:00 in
the morning, the magic comes to an end. In the huge place behind the
pista, big cranes haul dancers up from the enormous constructed
structures of the floats. They then disappear from out of the huge
parking spaces built around the Sambadrome. Outside, one can see
oversized clowns, giraffes, towers, personalities or huge animal heads.
Here, now on the way home, everything intermingles, the audience and
dancers, drummers and vendors, young and old, impressions and moods,
‘Zulus’ and ‘Masais’,
rendezvous. Still, one
last beer with meat on skewers or rather a coffee with bread and jam?
Somewhere, celebrations, singing and dancing continue, or instead if
you prefer, you could go home and sleep? Half naked women continue to
pose on the streets….it was a night of sensual frenzy, one
that
will remain in the memory for a long time.
‘Zulus’ and
‘Masais’ rendezvous
Half naked
women pose on the streets in the morning
Empty 'Sambadrome' in São Paulo, seen from a helicopter
Copyright for text and
photos: Jochen Weber
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