Carnival Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Brazilian Carnival, or Carnaval is an annual festival in Brazil held four days before Ash Wednesday, the day of fasting and repentance that marks the beginning of Lent. The celebration originated in Rio de Janeiro in 1641, when the city’s bourgeoisie imported the practice of holding balls and masquerade parties from Paris. It originally mimicked the European form of the festival, later acquiring elements derived from Native American and especially African cultures. For example:

• The lively street parades identified with today’s celebrations originated in the poorest sections of the Rio known as favelas, during the 1920’s and 30′s. These “shanty towns” were largely populated by african slaves and their descendants who took refuge in the city after the abolishment of slavery in the late 1800′s.
• Old African rhythms, most notably the Angolan tam-tam, are believed to form the basis for the Samba, the infectious rhythms and distinctive dance steps most closely associated with Rio’s Carnival.
• The feather bearing costumes worn by many carnival revelers also bear witness of African traditions. Feathers were frequently used by Africans on masks and headdresses as a symbol of our ability as humans to rise above problems, pains, heartbreaks, illness — to travel to another world to be reborn and to grow spiritually.

Additional Resources

• The African and Spiritual Origins of Carnival, TheAfrican.com
• History of Carnival in Rio, Ipanema.com
• History of Carnival in Brazil, Afropop Worldwide

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