Mardi Gras

RIO’S MARDI GRAS IN MY MIND

It’s a spectacle like no other—a hedonistic parade and street party of revealing costumes dripping in sparkle, oversized headdresses, elaborate floats, and the dizzying gyration of bodies moving to the seductive sound of samba.

words by STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS | photos courtesy of RIOTUR RIO

“Pa, hurry!” a little boy runs through the crowd and toward the rope barrier and waits for his dad there to pick him up and put him on his father’s shoulders.

“They’re here! I can hear their chants already”, the boy said as he heard the parade coming his way, singing, and repeating the festival’s chant.

I looked towards the boy with affection and took a photo of him as his eyes filled with astonishment and guided his father’s eyes as he pointed his finger to the parade of dancers in their colorful themed costumes that danced past them.

As a photographer, nothing fills my passion more than pictures of action, and as it sometimes comes with the job, I go to places around the Philippines and even to some parts of the world to witness how festivals are celebrated.

I’ve been to many fiestas around the country like the Sinulog in Cebu, the Pahiyas festival in Lucban, and of course, my hometown’s Sandugo festival, to name a few. Around the world, I’ve witnessed a wider spectrum of festivities such as the lively

Carnevale di Venezia in Venice, wild Oktoberfest in Munich, and the colorful Caribana in Toronto. The latter, however, inspired me to plan out a trip to Brazil to experience the biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the world, the Rio Carnival.

Yet in an unexpected turn of events, the pandemic happened. My plans of celebrating, dancing and maybe, drinking my way through the streets of Rio de Janeiro have been put off. However, I don’t want my plans to go to waste. The pandemic has afforded me more than ample time to do research and planning for this trip of a lifetime after two years of enforced hiatus. Let me share with you a quick roundup of the things I learned about the Rio Carnival.

The Greatest Show on Earth

Vibrant colors, elaborate and bold costumes, lively samba music, and people coming together in the streets—Rio de Janeiro surely knows how to party. Summer in this side of the world has never been this fun as the Rio Carnival takes place yearly. It truly lives up to its name, “The Greatest Show on Earth,” as it draws millions of tourists and spectators from all parts of the world, making them part of the celebration.
The Rio Carnival used to be celebrated as a Roman Catholic tradition as a way of preparing for the Lenten season. But when the Portuguese settlers arrived in the 1600s and included the small balls and the masquerade dances such as those in Europe, and bringing with them African workers who were also passionate about wearing their traditional wear, Rio’s festivity has been transformed dramatically from a pious observance into a frenzied street party.

Yet it wasn’t until the 1830s when Brazilians started to indulge in the days before penitence season begins. Around this time, themed costumes, street musicians and dancers were introduced, and even started the tradition of choosing the Carnival’s ‘king’. Over time, street performances and float parades became widespread and integral parts of the celebration, coupled with food and drinks. Today, Rio Carnival is a beautifully complex melting pot of African, Portuguese, and indigenous culture and traditions.

1, 2, 3… Dance!

And what is the Rio Carnival without samba? The art of samba, the country’s national dance, dates back to the 17th century in the Brazilian state of Bahia. According to history, the early style of samba was created by the descendants of African slaves who fused their native music with Latin American folk music. It’s development took shape eventually in Rio de Janeiro into the sound that we know today.

In the years that followed the music and dance of samba filled the atmosphere of the Rio Carnival. I believe it will be too hard to resist the rhythm of this passionate music. Over a hundred block parades called ‘blocos’ occupy the streets of Rio, walk over the neighborhoods of Copacabana, Leblon, Ipanema, and Lagoa, and I think it would be such a shame not to show your dancing skills if you find yourself in the middle of these street parties. If not, the carnival itself will give you the opportune moment to learn the first few steps of samba.

And if you’re still hesitating to show your moves, go with the vibe and put on a big smile. As many who have experienced the Rio Carnival, you don’t just watch the parade, you take part in it. Here, you can indulge the imagination and dress up artistically, rent a costume, put on some face paint or be there when the music and dancing get going. For many tourists, a big part of the experience is being part of the fun during the procession of colorful floats and engaging dancers trained in over 70 samba schools in the city.

The New ‘New Year’ in Rio

In Rio, they say that the new year doesn’t start in January; it starts on Rio Carnival. The carnival takes place yearly between the months of February and March, on the Friday before Ash Wednesday, and goes on in wild abandon for 5 straight days.

But of course, Rio knows how to party, and they do it early. Street parties already start a month before the Carnival and can even go beyond Lent for those who want to extend the spirit of merrymaking and carousing.

Men and women alike spend thousands of hours making these costumes as eye-catching and dazzling as possible. These are covered in intricate patterns of beads, spangles, and feathers individually applied by hand. The costumes are a key element that adds pomp and drama to the dance and music as samba schools joining the parade compete at the Sambadromo, a stadium that can hold 90,000 spectators.
For the uninformed, the carnival doesn’t just take place in Rio. Other cities and towns in the country also celebrate this riotous festival. Salvador, Diamantina, Fortaleza, São Paulo, Olinda and Recife, Florianopolis and Manaus also celebrate this annual cultural spectacle.

A Spiritual Celebration

As for many sincere Christians, it’s unusual for me as a Catholic raised in the Philippines to hold big celebrations before the solemnity of the Lenten season. Ahead of the start of Lent, Filipinos make ready for the 40-day period with preparations for the coming period of penitence in a subtle and reverent manner. After all, getting one’s mind and body ready for fasting still requires discipline, piety and practice.

So, it is quite astonishing that the real reason behind this huge Mardi Gras in Rio is to mark the commencement of the Lenten season. After the unrestrained revelry, Ash Wednesday finds most of the streets of Rio in quietude as devout Roman Catholics begin their fasting.

Well, the celebration isn’t named Mardi Gras for no reason. Mardi Gras directly translates to “Fat Tuesday” and describes the practice of feasting on rich and fatty foods before observing the fasting and other sacrificial rituals that come with the commencement of the Lenten season.

If anything, I guess the Rio Carnival simply celebrates the humanness of our existence before we offer ourselves to repentance and fasting, which replicates the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and his withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. In Rio, a reminder of the significance of Lent is all too obvious. Standing 2,340 feet above sea level atop Corcovado Mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, the 98 feet tall Cristo Redentor (“Christ the Redeemer”) appears ready to embrace the sprawling city beneath it. For me, this symbol of Rio expresses the notion that sacrifice too is a celebration of life and love.

Once the skyways are open to safe travel again, I would like to take that trip to Rio de Janeiro and dance in the street during the Carnival. For me, it would mean a journey of reflection of my vulnerabilities and weaknesses—my own humanity. Despite all the vivacity and liveliness that the Rio Carnival could offer me, I know that a spiritual dimension lies underneath the festivities—one that could be found while dancing, or perhaps by feasting, but definitely and eventually, by praying.

Just like the little boy, I could already hear myself scream in the blocos, “They’re here!” as the parade of spectacle comes towards my way.
Until then, I could only imagine how exciting it would be in Rio. I’ll just have to wait.