Sunday 19 February 2012

Feliz Carnaval!

Rather than facing the insanity of travelling with half of Brazil, I usually stay at home and do nothing for Carnaval. But this year, I decided to go all out - I convinced my parents to take me to a real bloco de rua - Carnival street parade - in downtown São Paulo.  (Note that this is different from the famous escolas de samba associated with Carnival in Rio and São Paulo - that's a competitive, televised, multi-million dollar event that you can pay to watch in the sambódromo, not in the street.)  

Bloco Afro Ilú Obá de Min is particularly uncommon, not just because of its focus on Afro-Brazilian culture and heritage, but also because its percussion section is composed entirely of women. Check it out!


Running on stilts with burning axes in both hands....now that's cool!


More photos here.