"The B in BJJ"
Hello GB Team members!
February 22nd is Carnival Time!!
This edition of “The b in BJJ” will try to make you understand a little bit about the Brazilian Carnival or Carnaval Brasileiro, which is the biggest popular party on earth.
A Little History:
The Brazilian Carnival (Portuguese: Carnaval) is an annual festival in Brazil held 40 days before Easter and marks the beginning of Lent. During Lent, Roman Catholics are supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures, including the consumption of meat. The carnival, celebrated as a profane event and believed to have its origins in the pagan Saturnalia, can thus be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh.Brazilian Carnival as a whole exhibits some differences with its counterparts in Europe and other parts of the world, and within Brazil it has distinct regional manifestations. Brazilian citizens used to riot until the Carnival was accepted by the government as an expression of culture. That was because the Brazilian carnival had its origin in a Portuguese festivity called “entrudo”.
Nowadays:
Well, if you go to Brazil on the Carnival you will find a party anywhere you go, but depending of what region you are you will see a diferent style of carnival. We mainly have three different styles.
If you go to big Cities like Sao Paulo and specially Rio de Janeiro you will be able to see the “Schools of Samba” parade.
Samba schools are very large, well-financed organizations that work year round in preparation for Carnival. Parading in the Sambadrome runs over four entire nights and is part of an official competition, divided into seven divisions, in which a single samba school will be declared that year’s winner.
Members of the “Estacio de Sa” samba school perform atop of a float that pays tribute to the statue of Liberty during the opening of the traditional Brazilian carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, 18 February 2007. Some 150 thousand people attend the parade.
If you go to the country side you will be able to watch some religious parades and also enjoy the Carnival at the Sports Club in town where the carnival bands will be playing all night long.
The third option would be to go to the Northeast states where the music and the dance has a huge influence on people’s life. Over there you will reserve your place in one of the famous “blocks of carnival” where thousands of people party on the streets basically following a enormous truck with a famous brazilian band performing on top of the truck, called “Trio Eletrico”.
This is a great video that shows a little bit of the Carnival in Rio, maybe now you can have a idea how much Brazilians miss Brazil on the Carnival time!
This Second Video shows the Carnival on Northeast in Bahia:
So, are you already planing your Trip to Brazil? Jiu Jitsu train during the week and Carnival party on the weekend!
Maybe we can get Started in San Diego: http://www.brazilcarnival.com/
