{"id":20500,"date":"2015-03-03T13:04:50","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T16:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=20500"},"modified":"2015-03-05T13:12:06","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T16:12:06","slug":"what-does-carnival-mean-to-you-interviews-from-the-sambadrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=20500","title":{"rendered":"What Does Carnival Mean to You? Interviews from the Sambadrome"},"content":{"rendered":"

A little over a \u00a0week has passed since the final official parade of Rio de Janeiro’s carnival<\/a> saw the top six samba schools walk down the Sambadrome after scores were announced.<\/p>\n

Though foreigners can participate\u00a0in\u00a0the dramatic\u00a0parade by simply buying a costume, carnival in the Sambadrome is the result of intense preparations and training by many who\u00a0devote their entire year, year after year, to that one night. Below are interviews conducted\u00a0with\u00a0a few of the dancers who take part in\u00a0the event each\u00a0year, as they entered the avenue. While many answers expressed a deep love and devotion to samba and carnival, some discussed\u00a0the rising professionalization and commercialization of carnival, the loss of spontaneity, and the lack of concern by outsiders who simply show up\u00a0to perform.<\/p>\n

Sonia, 52 years old, GRES Beija-Flor de Nil\u00f3polis<\/h2>\n

\"Sonia,<\/a><\/h2>\n

Do you attend\u00a0rehearsals at your samba school?<\/h3>\n

Yes, completely. I am always there at Beija Flor, it’s close to my house in Nil\u00f3polis<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

How do<\/b><\/strong> you view\u00a0your role in Carnaval?<\/b> <\/strong><\/h3>\n

I view it like this: the happiness I bring makes the school win. My role is to motivate\u00a0everyone to come to the school.<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

Tassiane de Oliveira, 21 years old, GRES Beija-Flor de Nil\u00f3polis<\/h2>\n

\"Excited<\/a><\/h2>\n

What does Samba represent to you?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Samba, ahh, a lot of emotion, unifying everything, it’s one of the principal things that makes the school win, you know? A good samba that spreads to people; it represents everything, it\u2019s the best part.<\/em><\/p>\n

What would you say is\u00a0the most important message to a young person\u00a0interested in engaging with a samba school?<\/h3>\n

Come, dance! Come because it\u2019s really good, really exciting, it\u2019s the best thing. When you enter [the avenue], wow, you don\u2019t feel anything, no pain, nothing. But wow, really, I end up crying.<\/em><\/p>\n

Monica, 44 years old, dancing in\u00a0various schools since age 18<\/h2>\n

\"Monica<\/a><\/h2>\n

If you could change something about carnival today, what would it be?<\/h3>\n

The opportunity for other samba schools to present in the Parade of Champions. Years ago the school that won\u00a0the second group also participated in the Parade of Champions. The first five schools of the first group would come and the schools that won in the access group would [also] come. I think this would be very valid to bring back, because it gives an opportunity and motivates\u00a0the school for the next year.<\/em><\/p>\n

What would you say is\u00a0the most important message to a young person\u00a0interested in engaging with a samba school?<\/h3>\n

[They should] like samba, like to dance, like to learn. Look for the school of your heart and from thereon, with the force of passion and the enchantment of carnival, you\u00a0will go forward and never stop. Since I started I\u00a0have\u00a0never stopped.<\/em><\/p>\n

Roberta Goes (left), 14, and her aunt, Janet Goes, GRES Portela<\/h2>\n

\"Roberta<\/a><\/p>\n

How do you think Rio’s Carnaval is perceived internationally?<\/h3>\n

Roberta: <\/strong>Ohhh, everyone adores Carnaval! It’s really well spoken of. Yeah, it’s the carnival most talked about on Earth.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you could change something about carnival today, what would it be?<\/h3>\n

Roberta<\/strong>: It seems like not everyone is always excited because sometimes, when parading you have to worry about a lot of things, some details that even count for points during that time of pressure, when they judge which school is going to win. <\/em><\/p>\n

Janet:<\/strong>\u00a0I think it’s also something very mechanical. I paraded also, but I don\u2019t think I am going to go back to parade again.<\/em><\/p>\n

What changes have you seen in carnival tradition in the last few years?<\/h3>\n

Janet:\u00a0<\/strong>These days it’s an industry where many families work. I even have friends that work during the whole year with carnival. So I think there could even be carnival the whole year. [The samba schools] play an important volunteer role. The kids have to study and have\u00a0good grades. So I think it’s very cool because it gives motivation\u00a0to the kids, you know? Not\u00a0in Roberta’s case, but in the section for\u00a0kids, those who don’t have good grades cannot participate and are forbidden to do so. So everything is social work behind all of this, you know, I think it\u2019s very interesting.<\/em><\/p>\n

Leonardo Jaques (not pictured), 27, GRES S\u00e3o Clemente<\/h2>\n

\"Dancers<\/b><\/h3>\n

Why did you choose this\u00a0samba school to\u00a0dance in?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

It really wasn\u2019t me who chose it, it was my family. My parents are from there, I was born there, and my mom performed\u00a0while pregnant with me.<\/em><\/p>\n

What changes have you seen in carnival tradition over the years?<\/h3>\n

Carnival today has become something very commercial. It wasn\u2019t this show that it is today and so I think the essence of carnival is lost, the fun is lost. These days, the parades are very technical, [there are] a lot of obligations and chores. So I view it as more of a profession for me now. I have fun, but I have fun in the\u00a0profession, because it is no longer for joking around. These days it is so serious that you can\u2019t have fun just for having fun. We can\u2019t dance\u00a0how we want to anymore. Ahh, I want to samba, ahh I don\u2019t want to samba; no! If you are at a place [on the avenue] with choreography, you have to do it. I think what changed is this, carnival became a spectacle.<\/em><\/p>\n

What does Samba mean\u00a0to you?<\/h3>\n

Samba, samba, I can\u2019t not do it. I tried to leave this year, not dance, retire. I was thinking myself a little old, but I stopped to think, ‘okay, if I\u2019m not going to dance\u00a0samba, what am I going to do during carnival?’ I don\u2019t know, without samba, I have no purpose during carnival. So samba represents everything to me, it’s everything, everything that I can do during carnival. During this time some travel, some go to parties, and I like to samba.<\/em><\/p>\n

How would you like carnival to be seen differently than it is today?<\/h3>\n

If someone comes to the parade with a samba school and thinks it\u2019s going to be all fun and games–it’s not going to be all fun and games, there are rules. If someone outside wants\u00a0to come to our carnival, yes come, but come knowing that you won\u2019t make a mess and that it is a serious thing. Everyone will have fun, they will have fun if they obey\u00a0the rules, and the harmony part in the school will also have fun not calling attention to the newcomer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Renata de Oliveira (not pictured), 30, 2012 Queen of Carnival in Florianopolis<\/strong>, first time parading in the Sambadrome<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"A<\/b><\/h3>\n

Why did you choose Portela?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Because it is a school with a lot of community, a lot of roots. I identify with schools and communities like this; of force and resistance.<\/em><\/p>\n

What changes have you seen in carnival tradition over the years?<\/h3>\n

Changes? There are several. We see some schools that end up losing the sense of\u00a0community in order to be a little more artistic. Carnival has become\u00a0a glass display, you know?<\/em><\/p>\n

In what way\u00a0would you like Rio’s Carnaval to be viewed differently from how it is today? <\/b><\/h3>\n

In a more respectful way. They still look a lot at the women of carnival as vulgar and such. I think there should be more respect for a\u00a0female samba dancer.<\/em><\/p>\n

What would you say is the most important message to a young person\u00a0interested in engaging with a samba school?<\/h3>\n

Come! Don\u2019t be scared! Doors will open!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A little over a \u00a0week has passed since the final official parade of Rio de Janeiro’s carnival saw the top six samba schools walk down the Sambadrome after scores were announced. Though foreigners can participate\u00a0in\u00a0the […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":20626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1284,1329],"tags":[1557,504,1370,1312,1558,420,571,1120],"writer":[1556],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interviews-profiles","8":"category-by-international-observers","9":"tag-beija-flor-samba-school","10":"tag-culture","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-nilopolis","13":"tag-portela-samba-school","14":"tag-carnival","15":"tag-samba","16":"tag-sao-clemente-samba-school","17":"writer-asha-nidumolu"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20500"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=20500"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=20500"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=20500"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=20500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}