Repercusiones de la crisis polaca en el mundo

Introduction: I havemanymemories of Carnaval, becauseit has always been a part of my life, and I have participated in Carnaval blocos and street Carnaval since a very early age. To me, there is no other festival or celebration like Carnaval! Nobody owns Carnaval; it’s for everybody: “[i]n fact Carnival may really be the only Brazilian national festival without an owner or master” (DaMatta, 1991: 87). Fiehrer and Lodwick define Carnaval the way I see it: “It is a graphic representation of collective interiority and social structure of a community” (1990: 7).

In Brazil, Carnaval reflects the cultural, social and political controversies that overwhelm Brazil throughout the year. Many songs are composed with lyrics

describing problems that happened or are happening in Brazil, such as racism, poverty, and social inequality; some freely criticize the Brazilian government.

The songs and the Carnaval spirit unite people from different races and backgrounds. During Carnaval, poor people come down from the hills or suburbs, while the better off leave their fancy buildings, and all mix together. Carnaval sets people free from everyday misfortune, from poverty, and from any animosity accumulated during the rest of the year.

In my opinion, Carnaval as a festival is worth waiting through one year of preparation to enjoy three days of happiness. I’ve been dancing Carnaval since I was very young. My parents provided me with an environment in which I could grow up with dance and music played by my father and my brothers-in-law. During the

Carnaval period when I was a kid, I felt anxious waiting to go and dance. I would follow the blocosde Carnaval with friends and my older sisters through the streets where we lived. Our bloco was a bloco do sujo (dirt block) where people didn’t need to wear costumes, just add some make up, perhaps some of the men dressing as women, and we were ready.

There were times that my older sisters would take me to the Carnaval matinee, which was a dance for children. We danced to the Sambas and marchas

that were composed for that year, and to the best of the oldies. The clubs divided their space into two sections: one for the adults and the other for the children.

I need to go back in time now and mention some of my earliest experiences with Samba as music and as dance. In the late 1950’s, I used to go with some family members to the Mangueira Hill. Some of the houses were made of pieces of wood from old crates; they were very small, and there was no indoor plumbing, but the little houses were filled with love and warmth.

I remember seeing women and children carrying water from the bottom of the hill where there was a public faucet, back up to their shacks. They carried water in five-gallon cans with wooden handles, and emptied them into a larger brass

container. Some women put the cans on their heads on a piece of cloth twisted and wound into a thick circular pad. I also recall seeing men carrying two five gallons cans with something like a yoke on the backs of their necks.

At that time, there were a few mango trees at the bottom of Mangueira Hill, which gave the hill its name. As for the people in the community, they seemed

happy, always smiling and singing. There at Mangueira Hill, I played with other girls my age, but most importantly I learned to dance the Samba on the hill’s pathways.

As I grew up, I started sewing my own costumes. Nothing fancy at first, but as I got older they became a little more elaborate, though still simple enough that I could dance comfortably all night long. As an adult, I participated in different Samba School practices on either Fridays or Saturdays. I also participated in, and in fact saw the birth of the style of samba called pagode (figure 6.1). Pagode is a slower rhythm of samba, in which the women (but not the men) use a lot more movement of the hips.

While participating in some of the Samba Schools’ practices, I was invited to participate in the parades, but I never did. I went to dance every night of Carnaval at social clubs with my friends and my nieces, who were very close to me in age. We chose to dance Carnaval in social clubs because it was safer than Carnaval in the street. Later on, when I had my daughter Ana Paula, I made costumes for her too, and took her to the matinees where we danced together. There was no feeling of tiredness, but rather a sensation of well-being.

I see the Carnaval in Rio and in Bahia as a big business industry. It is so big, in fact, that a project was approved to have a second Carnaval in Rio in July; this project is currently waiting for the Mayor’s signature. The intention of this July Carnaval is to make a parade without the contests or competitions among the

Samba Schools. Carnaval in July would bring more tourist revenue for the city of Rio de Janeiro (www.oglobonline.com 2006).

Finally Carnaval is achieving a status that I have thought it would for a long time. Carnaval is now being offered as a curriculum subject at the Universidade Estácio de Sá in Rio de Janeiro. The university will graduate professionals in Carnaval who will learn to “think” Carnaval. Also, students will have classes in sociology, anthropology, finance, Brazilian culture, and art history, among other subjects (www.oglobonline.com 2006). There are also courses about Carnaval being offered in schools that are similar to vocational schools in the US. O Globonline states that the Carnaval industry in Rio employs about 300 thousand people (2006). Brazilians have finally realized that Carnaval is a serious business, and that it should be treated as such.