Rio de Janeiro
BRAZIL
Carnaval: The Biggest Party in the World
By AARON
Friday, February 13, 2009
30 November 2008:”Aaron, could you please step into the office?”
At this point in time, Lyndi and I were living in Cusco, and I had just started my job with Tucan Travel on the 11th of November. I was called into the office, not to get fired as I originally thought, but to be told that since I was in charge of running Carnaval 2010 for Tucan in Rio de Janeiro, that I would be going with this year’s coordinator, Amy, to train at Rio’s Carnaval 2009. So to put it plainly, Tucan was going to send me to what’s known as one of the biggest parties in the world – and it was all on the company check. ROCK ON.
Up to this point, all I knew of Rio was what I had read and what people had told me, and as most people tend to do, they tell you the worst. I received plenty of the “don’t go to this place”, and “you’ll get robbed at gunpoint”, and “just be careful, because my best friend’s, brother’s, nephew’s, sister-in-law’s cousin heard of this guy who got kidnapped in Rio….”, but in my opinion, and after spending 2 weeks scouring the city, Rio is a great place with some of the most friendly, helpful people I’ve met on my travels.
We arrived at Hotel Regina in the Catete district of Rio at around 11pm on Friday night (Friday the 13th to be exact for the superstitious ones) and went around the corner to a little cafe that had outdoor seating, music, and a bar next door that had live samba music blaring from the inside. For about 15 Reals each (7USD) we both got some carne asada sandwiches and 3 Chopps of beer. (Chopps are pretty popular here – they’re basically 300ml of beers in a smaller beer glass.) Just on the first night, sitting outside with locals, the warm breeze, watching people spontaneously break out in samba as their friends clap and sing, listening to the animated Portugese conversations permeate through the drum beats of samba music, I knew I was going to like this place.
Unfortunately, at least for Amy and me, Carnaval 2009 was not just one big party, as we were ultimately there to work. So during the 2 weeks in Rio, the schedule was basically work first, then fit any extra time in for everything else. I can sleep when I’m dead (or back in Cusco as well). So on Saturday, after working for most of the day, we met up with Nico, the owner of El Misti Hostel and good friend of Tucan Travel, to go to the Sambadrome rehearsal for “Imperatriz”, one of the main samba schools that would be competing in the Sambadrome next week for Carnaval.
The Sambadome was built by Oscar Niemeyer in 1984 specifically for the Sambadrome competition, where the local samba schools compete for a pretty large sum of money, and also status for the next year as “best samba school in Rio”. Stretching over 700m (over 7 football fields), the schools construct massive, beautifully intricate floats (total of 9 maximum) and dance this entire length to their song they have chosen for that year. It is actually a very intricate competition, where the schools are judged on floats, costumes, coordination, song, rhythm, etc.
So we would be watching (sans costumes, floats, etc.) the final rehearsal for Imperatriz, at the Sambadrome, which sounded like a good time. Even better, once we got there we got to mingle in the crowd of the samba students of Imperatriz “backstage” or “back alley before the entrance to the Sambadrome”. So as we were drinking beers, Nico came up to Amy and me with a couple of Imperatriz t-shirts and said “Hey, get ready. You’re going to rehearse with them.” Apparently there is a section of each school during the competition where people can pay money and get to dance in the rehearsal and the actual competition as well. So armed with a new t-shirt and a beer in hand (which they made us throw away. Booooo!) we danced down the entire length of the Sambadrome with the school in front of a surprisingly large crowd, considering this was just a rehearsal.
Now at this point I should mention two things: 1. I don’t samba dance. 2. I don’t samba dance. In fact, Lyndi was in shock when I told her I had not only just danced for 1 hour (it takes about that long to go the entire length of the Sambadrome), but had done it in front of about 5,000 people. But hey, it’s Carnaval and hopefully I just blended in with the other 50 drunk tourists that paid (we didn’t have to pay!!) to do this. Also (and hard-core samba people will kill me for saying this), samba’s not that hard. You pretty much just move your hips and step to the rhythm, which as I re-read over this, realize that’s pretty much dancing in general. So maybe I did have this tiny dancer inside of me that was waiting to unleash his samba fury on the world that is Carnaval, and dance his heart out in the actual Sambadrome competition in a week??? Foreshadowing??? Anyone???
So the next day, after work, we roamed around the city a bit to explore and get our bearings. Downtown Rio is actually quite beautiful, with parks scattered throughout the city and food markets that line tree shaded streets. We met up with another of Amy’s friends, Daniel, who was taking his 4 yr old son, Luka to a children’s bloco party. Blocos are a staple in Rio during Carnaval, which are small parties all over the city where people meet and follow a band that plays as they make their way down a street. Dressing up is optional, but encouraged and in the spirit of this bloco, Luka dressed up as a pirate, and his dad donned one of his wife’s dresses, along with some lovely green shade eyeshadow. The bloco was a bit more calm than most, probably because 50% of the participants were under the age of 12, but it was fun nonetheless. I even got to meet Barack Obama while I was there! Yes, that’s right. The actual, real, in the flesh Barack Obama (look-alike). I have pictures.
After the bloco, I would like to say that we went out and partied until 5am, but unfortunately between the work and the Sambadrome dancing the night before, we settled on the new Al Pacino/ Robert DeNiro movie “Righteous Kill” on the laptop computer instead. Monday through Wednesday would pretty much be all work and no play as Carnaval was starting that Friday, and work had to be done. I did though, get to go to Copacabana and Ipanema beach for about 2 hours each, where all Caroicas (Rio locals) meet to show off their bodies and speedos rule the beach. Fortunately for the locals, I forgot mine, so they were only limited to enduring my blinding white skin as I had long lost my tan since being at Royal Decameron in Panama.
Thursday night we went to see Manu Chao in concert, which has a huge Latin American following, so it was fitting that we see them the night before Carnaval officially started. About 8 of us went to the concert, and since it was all general admission, we got to be front and center for the entire concert which was fun. Manu Chao did not disappoint as they came back for not one or two encores, but 5. Yes five. They started playing at 11:30 and played till 3am. Welcome to Carnaval.
Next day was Friday and the actual start of the Carnaval festival, so being busy the whole day constituted a night with all Tucan crew that were there (drivers, tour leaders, office staff) at Catete Grill, followed by a night of drinking until 3am. Again. Saturday was fun because I got to go visit Maracana stadium (built in 1950 for the 1950 World Cup, and has a capacity of over 90,000) and see a local semi-final between Flamengo and Resende. Being a huge football (soccer for Aussie and USA) fan, this was an unbelievable experience. If NFL fans could have half the passion and unity that these fans had… Huge banners and flags, smoke, fireworks, flares, chants and songs, all sung in unison by 30,000 fans cheering for their team. Definitely something everyone should experience.
That night, we met up with some people to go to another bloco party in the Santa Theresa district. This time we came prepared as Amy and I had bought costumes the day before, and I showed up to the party in my super cool purple pimp hat and blue feather boa. Hey, it’s Carnaval. The bloco was a rather small one, but intimate as the small band made its way down the street, where band and all followers ended up at a small park where the music and festivities continued.
At this point I should mention what I have been eating this whole trip. I have now become addicted (and will have withdrawals) to salgados and açaí. Salgados are crossaints or baked bread, filled with anything from ham and cheese to chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, and for about 2 Reals, they are awesome. Açaí is considered the “superfruit” of Brazil, and are a small, frozen grape-size fruit that is a deep purple color and insanely high in antioxidants. Mixed with granola, it also tastes as if God himself said “here, since broccoli and wheat grass suck, I will give you a healthy alternative that doesn’t taste like a foot”.
Sunday Night: Sambadrome Competition. This was the start of the 2 day competition of the “super groups”, if you want to call them that, and was an experience like nothing I’ve seen in my life. Each school takes about an hour to dance the entire Sambadrome, and this time we got to see them with the costumes and floats as well. The floats made the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade look like a high-school musical, and the costumes were amazing. Each school chose a theme, so there were schools with themes and floats ranging from “Mysteries of the Sea”, to “The future world as we know it”. The competition starts at 9pm, and goes until about 6am. We stayed until 5am, and then decided to call it a night.
Next morning, after sleeping until 11am and stuffing myself on açaí and salgados, I found out the news. Nico had arranged for Amy, myself, and 2 other Tucan workers to dance in the Sambadrome with Imperatriz that night in the actual competition. I’m talking about the real deal. Tens of thousands of fans, floats, costumes, the whole 9 yards, or I guess in this case, 700 yards. So that night, we met at Nico’s hostel to get our costumes and get prepared. Originally I was freaked out, because on the rehearsal night, I didn’t care. That was a rehearsal, but this was the actual competition where they were judged and also trying to win an impressively large sum of money as well. Far be it from me to screw up their chances with my “just move your hips and step to the rhythm” samba technique. But as I quickly found out, each school sells these costumes and spots to anyone (mostly tourists) wanting to get a “real experience” and is a huge source of income for the school. The judges know this as well, and do not judge the school on those sections. So as most people paid a minimum of 750 Reals for this, Amy and I got to do it for free. I always say, it’s not what you know, but who you know…
The experience was amazing, donned in our “gay gladiator” or “quasi-gay Power Ranger” costumes as I like to call them, we arrived at the Sambadrome at around 11pm with Imperatriz, ready to dance. Interestingly enough, the actual parade on competition day didn’t take nearly as long as the rehearsal. We smoked down the Sambadrome runway, giving it our all, amidst shouts, cheers, chants and singing from Imperatriz and it’s supporters and samba fans in the stands. I would like to give an amazingly detailed, step by samba step description of dancing in the actual Sambadrome parade, but to be perfectly honest, the whole thing felt like a dream. Maybe it was the steady drumbeat heard over the soundsystem that seemed to resonate in your chest with every “thump, thump, thump”. Maybe it was the singing, the lights, or the melding of bright colors that made you feel like you were in a Jackson Pollock painting; I don’t know. It felt like as soon as it had begun, it was over. Yet that memory will be imprinted on my mind for the rest of my life, almost like a dream you had when you were a kid, but can still remember to this day.
Having celebrated enough in the actual Sambadrome the night before, Val, Marc, Amy and I stopped at a small beer stand for a couple of cold ones, and then called it a night.
Tuesday turned out to be tourist day, as Pedro, my fellow co-worker and roommate during Carnaval, and I went to “Cristo do Redentor”, which is the large statue of Christ that sits atop Corcovado Mountain, overlooking all of Rio de Janeiro. Being a huge tourist attraction, the line for tickets was a mile long, chock full of people waiting to get to the top so they could cleverly take a picture in front of the huge statue with their arms spread wide – just like Christ the Redeemer! Wow. Clever. Luckily for us, Pedro da Silva is from Portugal, so he was able to haggle a nice ticket price and ride up the mountain for less than the ticket prices in line. Arriving at the top, we both realized that as far as travelers, we were the kind of people who enjoyed seeing things like this, but let’s face it- it’s a giant statue. So we read some history on it, took our pictures (amidst people with their arms spread wide, coy grins on their faces), and headed back down the mountain. No regrets. I can sit on a sandy beach and stare at the ocean for hours. I can look in circles atop a mountain at the beautiful surrounding landscape and be held in complete awe. I cannot, however, stay for a half day looking at a really big statue.
That night was kind of the goodbye for all of the tour leaders and drivers for Tucan that for one time a year can hang out with each other, catch up, and talk face to face before each one sets off on their respective tours out of Rio. The night was great as we were surrounded by numerous bloco parties in Lapa, and we pretty much spent the night dancing, drinking, sharing stories and taking in all the sounds and sights of Rio’s festive night life.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009. Last day in Rio. The day itself was almost a wind down, as I tied up any loose ends on the work side of Carnaval, and spent a couple of hours just laying on Copacabana beach, soaking in sun and sand that is not readily available in Cusco. That night, our friend Daniel hooked Amy and I up with 2 of his fellow Botafogo supporters, for the other semi-final match at Maracana Stadium between Botafogo and Fluminense. I couldn’t think of a better way to finish my time in Rio. Maija and Alberto are a married couple who live in Rio, and are both rabid Botafoga fans, so we hopped on the metro to Maracana, bought our tickets, and headed straight to the center of the lion’s den – Botafogo side. Alberto is in the main band, and by “main band” I mean the drum pounding, chant starting, crazed fans that seem to incite the rest of the crowd into an absolute cheering frenzy. We were in the middle of it, and I couldn’t think of a better place to be for a game. The energy given off by these fans is flat out contagious. You can’t help but scream, shout, cheer, and chant with the 20,000 other supporters there. Our side blew up even more when 15 minutes into the 2nd half, Botafogo scored on a beautiful header from a blinding cross on the left side. I never thought a stadium that big could shake, but it did for those 30 seconds after the score. Final tally: Botafogo-1, Fluminense-0.
Due to my extreme procrastination, I am finishing this particular blog just shy of 8 months after my visit to Rio. In fact, I’m closer to next year’s Rio than I am to the one I went to this year. The funny thing is, I can still hear the Imperatriz song as I head down the Sambadrome alley. I can still smell the beach and hear the ocean waves as I lay on Copacabana and Ipanema. I can feel the heat and thick air of thousands of people crammed into a concert building as Manu Chao go insane playing their 4th encore of the night. These thoughts are still imprinted in my mind as vividly as the night they happened. Rio is an amazing city that seems to draw you in with its culture, its people, its food, and its overall attitude on life. It left a lasting impression on me, and memories and thoughts that will stay with me for a lifetime. In the words of Benjamin Disraeli, “Like all travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.”
