Rio Carnival: A Story Of Community, Comradery and Caiprinhas

by Jack Law (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

Making a local connection Brazil

The appeal of South America begins 5,500 miles away. Wanderlust takes over, after several years of said desire sparring with the norms of society and a fear of packing it all in to chase dreams around the world. Finally the urge to explore comes out on top. A one way flight is booked to the land of the Latin. First stop, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Carnival was about to start, quite possibly the biggest procession of parties in the world. The first bloco was Carmelitas of Santa Teresa. The concentraciòn started immediately outside our apartment, where we spent the morning drinking beers with locals. Soon there were thousands of people on the street. So much fancy dress – glitter and colour everywhere, feathers, masks, hats, jewellery and despite the 33 degree heat, some even went for full costumes; nuns and bishops took centre stage. Next thing, it’s a street parade, samba band at the centre and thousands of people slowly dancing their way through the streets. Rio de Janeiro would be FULL of these parties for the next six days and we would become well versed in the art of the dance walk. Next to Santa Teresa is Lapa, a 24 hour party playground. There’s caiprinha stalls on every corner and loads of street food, including the ever so addictive meat sticks. Thankfully, the ratio of meat stick and caiprinha stalls per square meter of Rio is more than that of Greggs in the north of England – essential tackle that would keep us going throughout the week. There’s a distinct smell walking down some areas of Lapa, a mixture of bleach, alcohol and bin juice. As the week went on, so did the blocos. At Flamengo beach we lazily meandered through tropical trees behind the promenade, another samba band this time accompanied by a choir of birds singing along above. We reached Gloria, home to a huge park which by now had attracted thousands of people. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much music about. According to the locals, many of the blocos are more of an opportunity to get drunk in the street and have a chinwag. Our favourite bloco again left from Santa Teresa, this time in the evening. We could hear the band from our apartment, so as they passed, we jumped on board. Sousaphones, trumpets, a sax, flute (which doubled as a spliff bong when not being played) and a team of percussion: drums, triangles and more obscure instruments like the Shekere. We followed them through the winding, cobbled streets. Hearts melted when an old lady came to her window, only for the band to stop and give a dedicated rendition of one of its Samba numbers. The whole crowd waved and cheered for the lady, who was clearly touched by the moment, wiping away tears. This sense of community is felt throughout Carnaval, throughout Rio and in particular, in Santa Teresa, an infectious feeling that the community is at one. As much as we loved the samba, we also craved some electronic music. So we went to Carnaval Gop Tun. With no idea what to expect, we were dropped off in Santo Cristo, to the sight of a huge queue running against a long wall. We could hear the beats from outside, so naturally we waited for entry. Less a bloco, more a club, it was like we had walked into some tropical gardens. All outdoor, lots of trees doused in warm blue and purple lights and a huge stage to the front. And the tunes were banging, from start to finish, a mixture of techno, electro and house. We left after sunrise. Carnaval is a huge party which dominates the streets of Rio from morning into night, day in day out for six days on the trot. In fact, these parties will continue on the weekends for several months, a fitting wind down to some of the craziest festivities on Earth. Delicious street food, unlimited beers and caiprinhas, connecting with locals, dancing around in the street in fancy dress; there’s no more exciting and interesting place to do it than Rio.