Field Notes on Current Research in Brazil and Elsewhere
Carnival in the Interior, February 2016
An earlier post on “Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the Interior” describes some of the differences in celebration in Brazil. It can be read as a reflection on the celebration that is a preview of sorts for this photo description of a trip to two towns in the interior of Maranhão — Mirinzal and Central do Maranhão.
The fastest route is a ferry across a bay from the island of São Luís (the “Island of Love” they like to say on the signs entering the city). The ferry is close to, or part of, the Port of Itaqui which serves as the shipping point for vast amounts of mineral ore by mining giant Valé.
This is “Carnival” — but in this settlement near Central do Maranhão a community group dances the Tambor da Crioula much of the night. His shirt reads “Son of Saint Benedict,” the black saint revered in Tambor da Crioula, most black churches in Brazil, and often in the U. S. as “Saint Ben’s.”
Tambor da Crioula in the heritage way — men playing percussion while (only) women in wide, flowered skirts dance. The concession to popular entertainment is the wall of speakers behind the drummers. This guarantees that the rest of the village knows of the celebration. There are no known noise ordinances in rural Brazil.
The drummers for the “Boi do Carnaval.” This is an unusual celebration in Central do Maranhão that blends the ox/boi from the Bumba-meu-boi tradition with other celebrations. The sound truck amplifies the singer who came especially from another village to sing with the procession. From the Bumba-meu-boi group in Guimarães, this cantador shares the special status of “the voice” of the celebration.
As in the heritage Bumba-meu-boi celebration, the ox/boi dances in the streets and is “teased” by young boys.
Later others join in taunting the ox
No one actually seems to get hurt, but the horns are usually from a real bull
An interesting element that we had not expected was the importance of these massive speaker systems. Really huge ones are mounted on trailers. Smaller ones are mounted in the back of pick-up trucks or even in the hatchback of small cars.
They are portable street parties and can mobilized crowd for a demonstration or street parade through town. They are not hampered by any noticeable noise pollution ordinances and may play all night.
This one was across the street from our hotel — which was open to the street side. The sound was inescapable. The bass speakers shook the bed, and the mid-range speakers and tweeters rattled the glass. These are very sophisticated sonic devices and have become important to celebration in the interior.
They were first seen in parades in large cities, but are now a commercial venture in their own right.
In the town of Mirinzal a “bloco” marches along with a paredão, a wall of speakers that create a devastating sonic weapon
The paradão, or large wall, or speakers. This celebration had three of them, creating zones of totally chaotic sound waves that only young people full of beer seemed able to survive
Last night this bus station was filled with huge walls of speakers (paredãos). Today all that is left of the Carnival is the televised version of the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. From Mirinzil it seems as far away as all the other fantasy television that is beamed to them in the telenovellas day after day
