Carnivale starts today...

[PZ]

... in Rio!  Be sure to post your experiences, JRD! 

[JRD]

The days where I used to enjoy carnival here in Rio are long gone. When I moved to Rio, back in 2004/2005, street parties were again taking over the streets. For decades, celebrating carnival was restricted to clubs and the sambadrome, where the parade takes plce every year since the 80's, when it was built. Parties in the streets were small and not sophisticated at all in the late 90's and early 2000's but began to be something popular again by the beginning of the decade. So when I came to Rio it was happenning everywhere around town. All kinds of people were gathering in the streets, using funny, cheap, homemade costumes and listening to samba played live.

A street party is basically a group playing samba around a theme. They are called "Blocos" as in "block" and are created to please all kinds of people. Young students, old school partiers, tourists, LGBT, children, hardcore samba lovers... you name it. Some examples> The "Carmelitas". Named after a convent of Carmelites nuns in Santa Teresa district. Legend says one night, a youg nun escaped the convent to enjoy carnival and never came back again. People gather around this block wearing nun's veil, both men and woman. Preagnant nuns are seen everywhere. Another funny one is called Chrit's Armpit (Suvaco do Cristo). It takes place at the botanic garden in Rio in a busy street that runs through the lower part of the Corcovado Hill where the statue is. From down there, if you look up, you will see Christ's armpit as he is standing in the famous position with his arms wide open, hence the name. This year I've seen a group dressed as mexicans and a guy in a suit with a big blond wig. They were carrying a long sheet painted to look like a wall. At some point there was this other group of drunk guys who were picking a fight among themselves and the mexicans were rushing to place the wall between them to stop the fight. 

Lately it became so popular that going out is an ordeal. Think about millions... MILLIONS, of people out in the streets, drinking, partying and getting crazy. It can be heaven if you are up to no good but if you just want to enjoy a quiet holliday, you're doomed. Sriously... drunk people, people fighting, pickpocketers not to mention people drink beer, a lot of beer, and there are not enough toilets to everybody. You get the picture.

Besides, I'm a rock and roll fan. I will spend my carnival playing AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix as aloud as possible on my recently bought electric guitar!!!!!

[Art Blade]

Nice one, JRD, I hope you're going to have a good time

The city where I live is a carnival stronghold, too. We may not have many millions of people celebrating in the streets but around a million or more is very likely. In a city that isn't that extensive. We have a parade that consists of many themed groups, usually they make fun of political figures, and quite a few classic carnival groups that wear uniforms that very much remind of the time of the French revolution. We were occupied by the French back then and they didn't allow disguises during carnival so later, after they had fled the region, we used the left-behind uniforms of the French as some sort of mockery disguise but also reminiscent of the uniforms the Prussians wore when stationed here. Apart from those uniforms, anything goes, we see clowns, sheiks, cowboys, bees, you name it. During the parade it is tradition that the people belonging to a group of the parade throw sweets at the greedy crowds so they can catch some. More for the kids, really, but I've seen tank-like built fat old ladies who would stand in the first row defending their position against anyone (including kids) and collect sweets in big plastic shopping bags. Yeah, nice one. Overall, people get drunk until they fall over or get knocked out by drunks who are not yet that drunk. Everyone seems to live by the rule, "all year long nothing but now, everything." They're loud, disguised, drunk and violent, that's about all it is to me. I try to stay away from all that.

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[PZ]

Good stories gents, and I can't say I blame you for staying away!  I liked the story about the nuns and what the crowd does today to poke fun 

I also like the story about the fat ladies; of course they scoop up all the candy - that's how they became fat to begin with 

Enjoy your guitar, JRD - a more fun thing to do would be to get together with a few friends and enjoy the evening. That's the kind of party I do on New Years, and quite often we do a feijoada party preparing the food you recommended 

[Art Blade]

 

[JRD]

Enjoy your guitar, JRD - a more fun thing to do would be to get together with a few friends and enjoy the evening. That's the kind of party I do on New Years, and quite often we do a feijoada party preparing the food you recommended 

Funny you mentioned that. Last night we had a jam session at a local pub with lots of musician friends sharing the stage and playing along all night. Also, I just came back from the supermarket where I bought the ingredients to make a feijoda for carnival. 

[PZ]

Good for you, JRD!  Feijoada is definitely one of the favorites in my circles, and I did not even know about it until you originally posted the suggestion 

[JRD]

So here is a tip... if you don't know it yet.

Slice an orange in two and put it into the pot where you are making the feijoada. It will absorb most of the fat and you'll get a less fatty stew (still pork meat and beans so... not exactly light  )

[PZ]

I'd never have thought of that - is the orange with the skin still on?

[BinnZ]

I went to Antwerp this weekend with the misses. So glad they don't celebrate Carnival over there 
I was a bit worried since Antwerp is to the South from here. The South part of Holland is infested with the bar brawling religious people, but luckily Antwerp, being a Sailor's town, isn't that devout at all. We enjoyed Belgian beers in peace

[Art Blade]

 

[PZ]

Beer?  ... did I read Beer? 

[Art Blade]

 

[JRD]

I'd never have thought of that - is the orange with the skin still on?

Yup, still on. It does w0#k, trust me. 

[PZ]

I'll definitely try that the next time.  Feijoada is still one of my family and friends favorites.  Do you have anything else that you would recommend?  As you likely already know, I love cooking