Think everyone likes Carnival? Think again.
Brazil enters Carnival mode this weekend, and from now until Ash Wednesday, cities and towns across the country will put on what must be the world’s biggest party: music from samba to axe to traditional marches, elaborate costumes, dancing in the streets, all-night parties.
To sum it up in a word: excess. And Brazilians have been gearing up for months. You can get a sense of it even from the samba school rehearsals in Sao Paulo, which include these men dancing.
But things in Brazil are rarely as monochrome. A vocal minority of Brazilians absolutely detest Carnival. They all have their own reasons — the noise, the drugs, the violence, the sex — but they are just as passionate, if not more so, as their compatriots. Meet the Carnival opposition:
Rodrigo Avila Ferreira
Rodrigo Avila Ferreira, shown in this video, is firmly in the anti-Carnival camp.
In fact, so many people don’t like it, that the local travel section advertises "Escape Routes: Check out 34 packages for places free of tambourines."
Julia Coda:
Julia Coda, 24, is the ideal audience for such a pitch. She just doesn’t "like the music."
"It’s a party of our culture but it’s not a thing I enjoy going to," Coda said. "I would never pay to go to Rio and watch the parade. I don’t want to end it, but I just don’t want to go."
Josilz Xavier da Silva:
The massive evangelical movement in Brazil has created a sizeable anti-Carnival crowd of its own. Josilz Xavier da Silva, a valet, says Carnival, especially its sexual excesses, is a “worldly festival” and that his Carnival is Christ.
According to da Silva, "Carnival leads men to prostitution, leads women to prostitution. I mean, it’s a festival that influences people to do evil."
Bianca:
For others, such as Bianca, the opposition is largely a matter of musical taste.
"I don’t like it because the women who dance, they’re really vile, I also don’t like dancing samba much, and that’s why I don’t like it, because I don’t like to dance," Bianca said. "Understand?"
So what will carnival critics do during this year’s festivities?
Rodrigo will be playing guitar. Julia is heading to Paraguay to ride horses.
Leticia Bertogna Prata:
And Leticia Bertogna Prata, who considers Carnival “false happiness” — especially considering the economic and political problems in Brazil — is just hoping to relax.
"I’m going to stay," Prata said. "I’m pregnant, so I’m going to take advantage of the time off to rest for a few days, stay in Sao Paulo, I’m going to enjoy my house, my husband, and rest."
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