Carnaval de Salvador
Blocos
On the opening night of carnival, we decided to join sailors from a couple of other boats and move up a scale from our pre-carnival celebrations in Pelourinho and go to the blocos on the Osmar circuit.
The streets were still remarkably empty hours after the official Carnaval opening.
Unfortunately, this turned out to be a bit of a non-event as the first bloco didn’t arrive until three hours after schedule (Carnaval-time is a bit like Far North Queensland-time, only worse), the few blocos that did come by were only very small, and all were incredibly (painfully) loud.
When finally, the first of only a very few blocos arrived.
After a long wait and no action, we retired to a refreshments area and sipped on caipirinhas, walked back and forth and bit, and eventually decided that things were not really happening and returned to our respective boats.
Smaller blocos in Pelourinho on opening night.
The second day we went back alone to the same circuit and decided to walk against the direction of bloco traffic from the end point at Castro Alves to the starting point at Campo Grande.
The first bloco with a huge (and painfully loud) trio eléctrico, at Castro Alves.
Again, proceedings had started late but this time there was more of a crowd and a more decidedly festive atmosphere, and by walking against the flow, we got to savour all the performances without the long waits between blocos.
Walking upstream meant we got to savour more of the sights along the Osmar circuit.
Each time a bloco approached, we slipped our earplugs in, moved onto the footpath to let the bloco and the crowd pass, and swayed left-to-right on the beat of the music along with the rest of the crowd. Then we’d start walking again, until the next bloco appeared. This was more like it, even if the whole experience seemed rather odd. Clearly, we weren’t carnaval experts.
Even the cleaning crews got into the action! After every bloco, they would sweep the streets clean while dancing in closely choreographed moves.
Pepper sprayed
The Osmar program for that day included the bloco-Afro Olodum and having seen their more traditional drum-band performances in Pelourinho, we were keen to see the full trio eléctrico version as well. As we walked upstream, we saw a lot of Olodum dancers walking ‘upstream’ with us, presumably making their way to their trio eléctrico at the circuit start. Given their elaborate costumes, it looked like this would be a bloco worth waiting for. So, when we arrived at the start and found they were not ready, we loitered around for a couple of hours until they got moving.
The Bloco Olodum, with their trio electrico, is coming around the corner. A line of Polícia Militar (white helmets) is moving in the other direction.
From our spot on the footpath, we had a great, almost clear view of their dancers, their percussion band and their truck coming around the corner. What a feast for the eyes and what an assault on the ears! All a lot of fun, except for a crowd of young men moshing about, similar to what we’d seen in Pelourinho, but larger and more aggressive.
Full frontal of Olodum’s trio eléctrico, moments before the crowd got pepper sprayed.
Just as the Bloco Olodum came abreast of us, the crowd around us suddenly panicked, started coughing and covering their mouths, and surged away from the bloco. We hadn’t seen anything going on (although presumably the mosh had something to do with it), but got caught up in the crush as the crowd pushed away from the pepper spray.
The Olodum trio eléctrico keeps on going on.
Luckily, the crowd calmed as soon as the spray was left behind and immediately resumed dancing while Olodum, who had presumably also got hit with it, kept playing. Excitement over, we found another good viewing point, and things went back to normal again.
Cortejo Afro
After Olodum had passed, another colourful bloco-Afro appeared around the corner so we decided to stay for one more before we would head home. And what a fine one this was!
The Cortejo Afro trio eléctrico was feast to the eyes, so many colours and patterns.
Cortejo Afro is another bloco-Afro from Salvador, and possibly even more colourful and exuberant than Olodum. This bloco was truly a visual and a musical feast with dancers, percussion and brass players in front, behind and all around their music truck, all decked out in the most vibrant and spectacular costumes.
Different groups that were part of the Bloco Cortejo Afro.
And happily, this bloco came without rowdy young men moshing about. A great ending to a long and late night.
Camarote
We had booked tickets for our Barra camarote for a day when the Bloco Olodum would be part of the Dodô circuit. We were joined by Nicholas and his dad from SY San Cristobal, with Nicholas wanting to show his dad Salvador carnival from an easy and safe place.
An emtpy Dodô circuit, a few hours before the first bloco would start.
Like us, Nicholas had seen the spectacular Bloco Olodum on previous nights and was very much looking forward to see it from up high this time around.
In line for the Barra Camarote, wearing our abadás.
Space on the camarote balconies is limited but thanks to Nicholas’ quick entry, we got a prime viewing spot overlooking the circuit, and again we were eagerly awaiting the start of proceedings.
Prime position in Barra Camarote, with Nicholas and his dad.
We should have tempered our enthusiasm. This being Brazil, the first bloco didn’t come into view until two hours after its scheduled appearance, but it was the Bloco Olodum and it was carnival, so who cares.
Finally the first bloco, Olodum, arrives, with a huge roped-off area, packed with foliões preceding their first trio eléctrico.
Great then was our disappointment when they arrived without their dancers and percussion group! And this was going to be the same for all subsequent blocos that we saw slowly parading by – no performers on the street. It was ‘just’ their huge (and very loud) music-trucks with their roped-off areas full of foliões and with pipocas all around.
The two Olodum trucks were stationary in front of our Camarote for over half an hour.
Equally disappointing was the fact that, for some unknown reason the whole Olodum bloco halted in front of our camarote for at least half an hour, and stopped playing music all together before it eventually moved on. We later heard that there had been some ‘unrest’ at the front of the bloco and that the Policia Militar had not allowed it to proceed.
The Olodum crowd did not only consist of party-goers. There are at least 35 helmets (i.e. Polícia Militar and other security forces) in this picture.
This ‘unrest’ also popped up every now and then in front of our camarote, with the Polícia Militar not hesitating getting their batons out and wading in swinging them full-force at unlucky victims in the ‘unruly’ crowd. Strangely enough, this happened much more frequently in the bloco-Afros than in the whiter blocos, with the Polícia Militar being almost absent in the latter.
The next bloco did not arrive at least an hour after Olodum.
In the end, with the endless standing around and waiting for the next bloco (there was roughly one hour between them), and the loudness of the noise/music and without any of the visual entertainment that we’d had at the previous circuits, we left the camarote much earlier than expected. Luckily, given this and despite all the mayhem it was relatively easy to find transport and we were back in the marina by 22.00. Yeah, party animals.
Incredible crowds on the Dodô circuit. That day, the crowd broke the 1 million people mark on that circuit alone, with almost 2 million people on all three circuits combined. Crazy!
Back to the beginning
Not being deterred from our camarote experience, we spent the last two days of carnival in Pelourinho enjoying the smaller percussion bands meandering through its narrow streets. These bands, often also including a brass section, were always a very happy and relaxed, albeit deafening affair.
Different percussion and brass bands in Pelourinho. These groups were an absolute hoot!
We followed some around swaying from side-to-side, and enjoyed them from the side while sipping caipirinhas.
A (what we think is a Candomblé) ceremony, before their percussion band starts their parade, under the watchful eye of local women.
At one point we ended up being caught at an intersection with four percussion bands coming at us from four directions at the same time. Talk about a cacophony!
Two mini, but still incredibly loud trio eléctricos passing each other in Pelourinho. Somehow, they still managed to keep playing their own songs.
But they were all happy and gave way or passed by or through each other in a very friendly fashion, though none of them let up with their own drumming rhythm or brass playing. Fantastic!
Beautifully dressed and colourful dancers were part of many blocos in Pelourinho.
So it was that we ended our carnival where we started, on the small-scale in the streets of Pelourinho. Had Frederieke been 30 yrs younger the trio-electricos may have appealed to her, but now, being almost 60, they just seemed to be loud noise for noise-sake.
Bloco Pierrot de Plataforma. Dressed up as the famous clown, but without band or trio, these groups parade along the more traditional circuits.
For David, perhaps the traditional blocos might have appealed but not the trio-electricos, not ever in his life. The vibrant percussion (and brass) bands in Pelourinho, together with the (mostly) happy and relaxed atmosphere of the crowds there is what we will remember most fondly about Carnaval de Salvador. It might even make Frederieke get her trumpet out again!
Zo! Jullie geduld werd aardig op de proef gesteld zeg. Maar de moeite waard. Wat een bijzonder mooie herinnering 🪘🥁💃🏼🎺🎭.
Inderdaad, speciaal om mee te maken en mooie herinneringen 🥁🪘🪇🎺🇧🇷!
Dear Frederieke and David, ahoy!
What a privilege it was meeting you this morning at the café.
After our conversation, I got home so eager to read your blog and keep following your journey and sharing a list haha. I read about your experience in Salvador, and I’d love to share a few thoughts.
Carnival in Salvador (as well as in Rio) was at its peak in the 90s and 2000s, when the atmosphere, the music, and the people were truly unique. Back then, you had iconic bands like Banda Eva, Chiclete com Banana, Timbalada (my favorite, hands down), and Netinho — their lyrics, rhythm, and the energy of Axé music would flood our souls with joy.
The parades used to be deeply connected to Afro traditions, religion, and music. Sometimes I really miss those days, and Axé from the 90s and early 2000s is still one of my favorite genres. Daniela Mercury, Ivete Sangalo and Margareth Menezes are the women that stood out in the Carnival History.
So, here comes the list every Brazilian loves to share haha — this will give you a glimpse of what Carnival in Salvador used to be like. So, here are the songs (some with videos) that changed an era when we talk about Carnaval:
1) https://tinyurl.com/Timbalada-Carnaval-B
2) https://tinyurl.com/Banda-Eva
3)https://tinyurl.com/Daniela-Mercury
4)https://tinyurl.com/Banda-Cheiro-de-Amor