Brasil: Uma noite em Sapucaí
Brazil: A night at Sapucaí
written by:
Dr. Marina Ramires and Andrea Lucio Aragundy
I went to Brazil for the very first time during Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval. I am aware that in english the word is “carnival” however the choice to use the portuguese spelling is going to be purposely throughout this post along with other portuguese words and expressions that shouldn’t be translated to another language only the hope for a definition could only hope to express the musicality of this language as a whole and specially pertaining carnaval and samba. I want you to hear the pronunciation in the language when you read me. This is the first post of many about my trip to Brazil and I want to focus this one on our visit to the Sambódromo Marquês de Sapucaí.
We were lucky to visit the day the following Schools of Samba paraded:
G.R.E.S. Acadêmicos do Salgueiro
We were certainly blessed to be there the same day the winner school of samba Beija Flor de Nilópolis paraded! I do have to say that each school is grandiose and unique in the splendorous way in which every single detail is placed. No wonder why it takes each school year round planning for the parade. Each school has north of 3,200 people walking, dancing, playing, moving and making it happen within 70 to 80 minutes which is the time each school is allotted to start and finish their participation.
Scoring Categories
The Sambódromo Marquês de Sapucaí hosts about 12 schools of Samba during a span of 3 days each year during Carnaval. I used to believe that samba would only refer to the dance style and music but it is actually an interdisciplinary genre that encompasses dress, acting, spiritual and many other disciplines within itself. My samba teacher from Salvador in the state of Bahía; Quenia Ribeiro, taught us that there are around 66 different types of samba. The one she teaches in particular is Samba Pagode and it is one of the dozens of different styles of Samba. As a west coast South American(Ecuadorian), Brazil to me is an endless universe I have fallen into and have no intention to quench my thirst for knowledge of their cultural diversity.
My dear friends Raine and Peter invited me to join them and another 11 “gringos”- later self proclaimed the “13 da Rai” ( Raine’s thirteen) in Rio for Carnaval. They were able to get tickets for the bleacher section which in my opinion turned out to be the best seats on the house as it was elevated in comparison to the coveted and expensive floor section during one of the main nights of Sambodromo happenings during carnival as it turns out the Campeã (champion) of the Rio Carnaval, Beija Flor paraded that same evening! Beija Flor for instance featured Neguinho da Beija Flor last parade before he retired after being its main singer for 50 years. A truly amazing artist with a powerful voice that conveys the joy of samba and carnaval.
Upon arrival I was delighted to find myself among cariocas and other brazilians who attended “o maior espetáculo da terra” (the greatest spectacle on earth) . We got there quite early around 7pm for the show to start at 9pm. I want to be as close as possible to the view so I found myself a spot at the iron railing and quickly befriended a lovely couple who were attending and became my personal lovely local commentators. Away from my Portuguese-speaking friends I had to put my Portuguese communication skills to the test as I had no other recourse. I believe they really felt my love for their country, city, samba and carnaval and the conversation really flowed; they slowed down their pace when talking - as portuguese could be extremely difficult to comprehend when listening to native interlocutors- I like to describe portuguese as listening to a language in which the voice volume is low of and pressing X2 on the pace, as a native spanish speaker it certainly feels that way. In latin america spanish speaking countries we like to think that we can understand and even have an easier chance to speak portuguese however it is a challenging and beautiful language heavily influenced by the history of the speakers and the cultural influencing factors. Visiting Rio have really motivated me to make an improvement with my communication abilities in Portuguese as most local cariocas do not speak spanish or english.
The parade took the entire evening. It was about 4am when we left and Vila Isabel was still running, however we decided to run to escape the crowds as the Sambódromo can accommodate north of 72,000 spectators each night and exiting the venue can get challenging once the bulk of the crowd is on their way out. I have to say Raine and Peter’s methodical planning came handy on this one as they hired a van for the group in advance.
The final parade on March 8th, features the 6 runner ups! The parade started at 10pm and ended well into the next morning. I was amazed by the carioca estamina that is able to withstand a marathonic viewership and celebration of Samba!
Marina’s guide to the parade
Marina Ramires is one of our local friends who guided us through this adventure! She is a native carioca and below she provides a comprehensive context to the parade which is one of the most exciting performances on earth that actually includes a scoring competition. I have personally never witnessed in my life so much accuracy and synchrony and reach for perfection. It is a truly magnificent experience to see in one's lifetime.
Each parade lasts from 70-80 min, and schools are penalized 0.1 on the overall score by every minute they are early/late. Every school must bring from 4-6 floats. They must have a Baiana wing performing a dance in which they twirl through the avenue. Bateria (aka the percussion band) must have at least 200 components. A component is each person participating in the parade. Parades cannot have any merchandising material or reference. Judges will be spread out in different sections of Sapucaí (Sambodromo section 3, 6, 9 and 10). The bateria must make at least one stop in a gap of the avenues, they usually make two though: section 2 and 11. The schools will be judged on nine categories/criteria types and the championship is decided by decimal points, all that to highlight that it is extremely competitive.
BATERIA (percussion band)
The band will be evaluated on keeping the rhythm in steady, level of difficulty, creativity, and overall just sound perfect. A Mestre de Bateria (kind of like a maestro) will be in charge of commanding the bateria.
SAMBA-ENREDO (Theme Samba)
To be judged on lyrics (5pts) and melody (5pts). If judges think, for example, that the lyrics are poor, or find something to be a cliche, they can deduct decimals - and have to justify that in writing.
HARMONIA: (Harmony)
This criteria evaluates the marriage between rhythm and singing. Every component must be singing the samba and playing their part. They also analyze the musicality: the main interpreter being in sync with the bateria, the vocal presentation of the interpreters and keeping the tone throughout the presentation– if ONE component is not singing at a random moment, that could mean bye bye to the championship.
EVOLUÇÃO: (evolution)
The flow of the parade through the avenue.
The parade must be cohesive, there must not be gaps between wings, and one wing cannot invade the other. If a school is rushing to finish in time, or slowing down to make the minimum time, or even if a float has tech difficulties and a gap is formed ahead of them: this school will probably not win.
ENREDO (Plot)
Divided into concept (5pts) and execution (5pts). Equally balancing clarity and creativity in which a school was able to portray the story in the avenue, and if they were able to “carnivalize” it. If they add or fail to bring any wing or floats that were not described in the book, the school is penalized.
ALEGORIAS E ADEREÇOS: (floats and other scenic accessories)
Divided into concept (5pts) and execution (5pts).
Creativity, criatividade plástica (plastic art), and ability to add to the storytelling are evaluated here. The finishings and details are scored to the decimal point! This includes the costumes of everyone on the float/tripod. A flaw on the floor, or a component having a wardrobe mishap on a float: bye bye decimals.
FANTASIAS: (costumes)
Divided into concept (5pts) and execution (5pts). Creativity, how they add to the story, how they look on the avenue, the finishing: all of that will be judged. If you see a component with a missing hat, for example, judges will deduct decimals. This criteria will not be analyzing the costumes of the Mestre-Sala and Porta Bandeira, Comissão de Frente and Alegorias e Adereços: those will be analyzed on their own criteria (making them that much more important!)
COMISSÃO DE FRENTE: (front wing)
This is a choreographed wing, and they are the first to appear on the parade. They greet the audience and introduce the school. Divided into: concept/clothing (5pts) & presentation/execution (5pts). They must perform in front of the judges cabins throughout the avenue.
MESTRE-SALA AND PORTA-BANDEIRA: (The couple where the lady is the flags holder and the guy is there to conduct the dance).
They will be judged on clothing and dance, and. They perform a very specific dance and present the school's flag to the audience. The couple must dance in perfect sync and harmony, the Mestre- Sala’s role is to court the Porta- Bandeira, whose role in return job is to tend to the flag, which can never fold during the dance!
This is the most points attributed to only two components in the score system. This couple can make or break a school!
Afro-Brazilian Spirituality
As I was watching the parade I was marveled to see that every school was homaging Afro-Brazilian spiritual communities of Candomblé and Ubuntu. I immediately assumed that it is this way every year and found mistaken, when a couple of days later while watching the champions parade. The choice of this enredo impressed locals as brazilians and the international community of art and culture all over the world raved about the fact that this very year the parade was groundbreaking as it celebrated afro brazilian spirituality of which samba and carnaval culture has been the root of all along.
Places in NYC to celebrate and learn about Brazil
There are many cultural references and spots of Brazilian culture in New York, we would love to read you all in the comments and highlight the ones you enjoy and recommend. Below are the ones Andrea has found over the years, and as you may know already the best way of knowing a place is knowing its people.
Beija Flor- Restaurant with live brazilian music
SOB (Sounds of Brazil)- Live Music Venue
House of Yes- Opa Carnaval! - One night only during Carnaval season
idancesamba.com- One of the main samba instructors in NYC- Quenia Ribeiro
Fora de Moda NY- Samba de Mesa
Current Happenings
Mestre Didi: Spiritual Form- through July 13th at El Museo del Barrio
