A story of encounters, transformations, and creation.
Material to read before, during, and after the visit, featuring questions, challenges, and activities for the class.
To start: what is Carnival?
When we think of Carnival, samba, samba schools, blocos, costumes, parades, and Sapucaí might come to mind.
But Carnival is much larger than just a festival taking place over a few days of the year.
It involves history, music, dance, religiosity, work, creativity, memory, identity, and collective participation.
In Brazil, Carnival was built over centuries. Many of its earliest references came from Europe, but the Carnival celebrations we know today were transformed by the diverse cultures that shaped Brazilian society.
Therefore, one question can accompany the entire visit:
How did a celebration that crossed the ocean turn into so many different ways to celebrate in Brazil?
Before Brazilian Carnival: where did this festival come from?
The word Carnival is linked to ancient European traditions of festivities held before Lent, a period in the Christian calendar marked by preparation for Easter.
Throughout European history, different regions developed celebrations with features such as:
●use of masks and costumes
●music and dance
●street games and revelry
●temporary reversal of social roles
●communal food and celebrations
●satire and popular manifestations
There was no single "European Carnival." There were different festivals and customs, which transformed over time.
When the Portuguese arrived in the territory we call Brazil today, they brought with them customs and forms of celebration present in European society.
But upon arriving here, these practices encountered a completely different reality.
The Encounter with Brazil
The history of Brazilian Carnival must be understood within the history of the formation of Brazil itself.
Colonial society was formed through the encounter, and also the conflict, between different peoples and cultures.
Among them were:
Indigenous peoplesPortuguese and other EuropeansAfricans forcibly brought through enslavement
These groups had different ways of singing, dancing, playing instruments, celebrating, storytelling, and occupying public spaces.
African cultures played a fundamental role in shaping Brazilian popular expressions.
It is important to remember that this contribution occurred under conditions of extreme inequality: millions of Africans were brought to Brazil against their will and subjected to enslavement.
Even in the face of this violence, their knowledge, cultural practices, musical forms, rhythms, dances, community values, and creative ways deeply contributed to Brazilian culture.
The entrudo
One of the expressions that preceded Brazilian Carnival was the entrudo, a practice of Portuguese origin that took on different forms in Brazil.
During entrudo, people took to the streets and joined in games that could involve water, flour, liquids, and other elements.
There were different ways of participating.
In the homes of wealthier families, some games took place inside private spaces.
In the streets, especially among the working classes, the games could take on more intense and collective forms.
The entrudo gradually became the target of criticism and control attempts by authorities, especially during the modernization of cities in the 19th century.
Over time, new forms of Carnival emerged and gained ground.
Carnival changes
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazilian Carnival underwent many transformations.
New ways of organizing the festival appeared.
Among them were:
●carnival balls
●carnival societies
●cordões
●ranchos
●blocos
●musical groups
●popular street celebrations
Carnival ceased to be a single type of celebration.
It became a wide array of distinct celebrations.
And each Brazilian city developed its own unique character.
The Role of African Cultures
To understand Brazilian Carnival, it is essential to appreciate the role of Black populations in building Brazilian culture.
Music, dance, percussion, community organization, and various Afro-Brazilian traditions profoundly influenced popular celebrations.
In Rio de Janeiro, specific territories became vital hubs for gathering and cultural creation.
The Praça XI area, for example, played an important role in the history of Carioca samba.
There, musicians, composers, workers, artists, and Black communities came together, helping shape a new musical and cultural language.
Tia Ciata and the Tias Baianas
Among the key figures in this history is Tia Ciata, the name by which Hilária Batista de Almeida became known.
Originally from Bahia, she settled in Rio de Janeiro, where her home became a major space for gathering, music, and community life.
The so-called Tias Baianas (Ciata, Bebiana, Carmen, among others) played an essential role in the cultural life of Rio's Black community.
Their homes were sanctuaries where diverse cultural practices converged.
Music, dance, cuisine, spirituality, festivities, and community bonds all flourished there.
The history of samba cannot be separated from these social networks.
To learn more: Pequena África and Carioca Black culture
Pequena África, a region encompassing areas such as Saúde, Gamboa, Santo Cristo, Cidade Nova, Estácio de Sá, and the old Praça Onze, was one of the primary centers for the formation of Rio de Janeiro's urban Black culture. After Abolition, the area welcomed many Black people and Bahian migrants who preserved African-rooted religious, musical, and cultural traditions.
Carnival was central to this process. In Pequena África, ranchos carnavalescos, rodas de batuque, partido-alto, and later the samba schools developed. Praça Onze became an important gathering point for these traditions and came to be inextricably linked to the birth of Carioca samba.
A central figure in this history was Tia Ciata (Hilária Batista de Almeida). A Bahian woman, spiritual practitioner, and community leader, she hosted a gathering space in her home where music, Afro-Brazilian spirituality, and community life intertwined. Renowned musicians such as Pixinguinha, Donga, João da Baiana, and Heitor dos Prazeres frequented her home.
Thus, Carnival in Pequena África did not emerge merely as a party. It also served as a sanctuary for preserving, transforming, and affirming Black culture in the post-slavery era, a period marked by inequality and efforts to control Black cultural expressions. Samba and the carnival forms created in that region helped build a fundamental part of Rio de Janeiro's cultural identity.
A later milestone was the founding of Deixa Falar in 1928 in Estácio, often regarded as the first samba school. The experience of the Black communities in Pequena África was essential to developing this new format of carnival organization.
The Birth of Samba
Samba did not emerge overnight.
It was the result of a long process of encounters, transformations, and musical creations.
Diverse musical forms and cultural practices contributed to this process.
In Rio de Janeiro, samba developed in close connection with Black communities and varied social spaces. The region of Pequena África in Rio de Janeiro is the heart and soul of Carioca samba.
In 1917, "Pelo Telefone," registered by Donga and Mauro de Almeida, became a landmark in recorded samba history and is often remembered as the first samba recorded on record to achieve wide circulation.
However, it is important to avoid the notion that samba was "invented" by a single person.
The formation of samba was a collective process.
From ranchos to samba schools
Carnival ranchos were important expressions of Carioca Carnival.
They featured organization, music, characters, costumes, and processions.
Over time, different groups created new ways of parading.
In the 1920s, organizations emerged that would be fundamental to the formation of samba schools.
In 1928, Deixa Falar was founded in the neighborhood of Estácio de Sá, considered one of the first organizations to use the term "samba school."
From then on, samba schools consolidated and developed their own distinct characteristics.
Imagine that your class has been given the mission to create a small parade.
Step 1: Choose a theme
It can be:
●a story of Brazil
●a story of Brazilian Afro-Indigenous culture
●a prominent personality
●a cultural manifestation
●an animal
●an environmental issue
●a story from your community
●an invented theme
Step 2: Create the theme
In three sentences, tell what the parade will present.
Step 3: Think about the visuals
What colors represent your story?
What shapes?
What characters?
Step 4: Create a costume
Make a sketch.
Indicate the materials that would be used.
Step 5: Create a float
Draw a float.
Think about:
structuremovementsculpturecolorlighting
Step 6: Create the samba
Write four lines of verse to present your theme.
Step 7: Divide the roles
Who will do each part?
●Research
●Theme
●Music
●Design
●Costume
●Float
●Dance
●Production
●Presentation
Step 8: Share
Present the project to another class.
Then ask:
What were we able to create together that would be difficult to create alone?
Carnival Vocabulary
Entrudo
Carnival tradition of Portuguese origin that developed in different ways in Brazil.
Rancho
An organized form of Carnival celebration that had a major presence in Carioca Carnival.
Samba-enredo
Musical composition created to accompany and present a samba school's theme.
Theme
Narrative or theme that guides the artistic construction of a parade.
Carnival designer
Professional responsible for the artistic concept and direction of the parade, in dialogue with a large team.
Prop maker
Professional who works in the creation and production of props and accessories.
Float
a large scenic element used in the parade.
Ritmista
member of the drum section who plays a percussion instrument.
Passista (samba dancer)
member who performs dance and samba routines during the parade.
Mestre-sala and porta-bandeira
couple responsible for presenting and symbolically carrying the samba school's flag during the parade.
Drum Section
group of percussionists responsible for executing the percussive soundtrack of the parade.
An idea to hold onto
Brazilian Carnival has a long and complex history.
Some of its influences arrived from Europe, especially through Portuguese traditions.
But the Carnival that developed in Brazil was transformed by the historical and cultural experiences of different peoples and communities.
African, Afro-Brazilian, and Indigenous cultures played a fundamental role in this process, especially in shaping the musical and cultural traditions that defined Brazilian Carnival.
That is why studying Carnival also means studying the formation of Brazil itself and the identity of Brazilian culture.
And perhaps that is one of the greatest discoveries that a visit to Rio Carnaval Expo can provide:
Carnival is not just what we see on the Avenida.
It is everything a society learns, creates, transforms, and shares to get there.
Complete material
Receive the educational material
Teachers and educators can receive the complete Rio Carnaval Expo educational material by email.
