Portuguese Language Blog

Já é Carnaval! Recently, we learned about Carnival in São Paulo and Minas Gerais, and we’ve learned about Carnival in Rio and Recife before. Today begins Rio de Janeiro’s samba school competition, when the city’s top twelve schools compete against each other at the Sambodrome. A samba school is a group that develops original songs, dances, costumes, and floats each year to compete for the title of best school.

During the competition, samba schools are judged based on a number of factors, including costumes, floats, dancers, and staying within the allotted period of time. They are given points from a panel of judges, which determine if they stay in the Special Group the following year. This year, the twelve qualifying samba schools are São Clemente, Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Portela, Unidos da Tijuca, Vila Isabel, Mangueira, União da Ilha, Salgueiro, Mocidade, Grande Rio, Porto da Pedra, and Beija-Flor. Last year, Unidos da Tijuca won, for the first time since 1936. Every year, the lowest two scoring schools get moved down to the lower classified group of samba schools, and the two highest scoring schools in the lower group get moved up to the “Special” group to compete with the top schools. Each year, the samba school picks a different theme, which can be pretty much anything: a city, a country, a time period, movies, famous people, you name it. You can see what the themes are for each group this year clicking here.

To preview and listen to some of the samba school’s samba-enredos (samba songs) for this year, take a look below:

Magueira

Beija-Flor

Salgueiro

Want to watch the Carnival parade? You can watch live on Globo online. Check G1′s Carnaval 2011 page tonight and tomorrow night to watch live.

The most famous Carnaval celebrations in Minas Gerais are usually in the historic towns of Ouro Preto, Diamantina & Mariana.  However, there are many other parade and parties in numerous small towns around the state.  These are usually called, Carnaval de Rua, where there are parades called blocos carnavalescos and sometimes stages set in the middle of the street and crowds of Carnaval goers make it to the streets in costume, abadás, or just regular street clothes.  The important thing is, there is lots of dancing… and drinking, for the most part.

Many say Caranaval in Minas Gerais, is almost a mix of Bahia’s Axé music & Rio de Janeiro’s brass and drum bands, so if you are the type of person who likes “a little bit of everything,” don’t mind being away from the beach on Carnaval, and don’t want to spend as much as you would for a parade in Salvador, Minas is a great destination for Carnaval!

Here’s a video with a little bit of what one of the blocos in Ouro Preto has to offer (not the techno music while really, there are Axé bands playing!).  Since there are a few colleges there, you’ll see there are a lot of college students at the Carnaval celebration there!

Yesterday I wrote a post on Brazilian traditions on what to wear for the New Year.  I also mentioned how we have all sorts of superstitions and that I would share that with you all today!  For many Brazilians, what you wear, eat, drink and do at midnight or around that time, determine how your next year is going to be.  I’m not usually a very superstitious person, but this year’s New Year’s party is going to be na minha casa, and I like to play around with these kinds of traditions.  So here goes the rest of the tradições e simpatias do reveillon brasileiro:

O que comer:

- Lentilhas, or lentils, are eaten in various forms (soup, sala, with rice & meat) in order for your next year to be financially successful!!

- Carne de Porco – It’s uncommon for anyone to eat any poultry on new year’s eve here because chickens & turkeys kick back their legs to walk and pigs walk forward.  This is simbolic of the way the year will be – walking forward or moving backwards!

- Uvas & Romã – Eating grapes or pomegranate right after midnight and keeping 12 seeds and putting them in your wallet.  This also attracts more $$!

O que beber:

- Champagne & Vinho – Like with eating grapes, champagne and wine are made of grapes, so why not, right?!

O que fazer:

- Limpar a casa – Cleaning your home, taking out and donating all things you don’t use, and are overall superfluous is a good way to start the new year with no bad energy.  Catholics will also sometimes sprinkle holy water on doors and/or door handles.  Oh, change your sheets too!

- Pular Ondas – A tradition that stems from Candomblé and Umbanda, African inspired religions, if you’re at the beach, many will jump over 7 waves and make a wish on each hop for the year to come.  This is supposed to bring good vibrations your way all year long!

- Poem o pé direito no chão – Another superstitions actually quite literal.  At midnight, if you lift your left foot, you start the year off on the right foot . This is usually done with a glass of champagne in hand and hopping 3 times.  Hopping up a step on just your right foot also gives you a leg up!! (ok, I’ll stop with the cheesiness now)

I’m sure there are more I haven’t listed, but these are the most common ones I’ve heard of (or tried!).  Can you think of any others?  Do you think you’ll try out some Brazilian traditions to bring you luck in 2011?

Hope you all have a Feliz Ano Novo!