<<< Back to Home << Back to Tourism in Brazil < Back to Carnival in Brazil Carnival in Olinda and Recife Olinda and Recife are two neighbour cities in the State of Pernambuco; visit that page to check out the official site and the most important newspapers of Pernambuco. While carnival in Rio has become a mega show business, and carnival in Salvador has a participation of the local musicians (who, wanting or not, carry the word "business" with them), the carnival in Olinda remains almost totally popular. Carnival in Olinda is made almost totally by the anonymous people. The city governments of Olinda and Recife mount some stages for artistic performances all across the cities, but most of the fun takes place in the hills of Olinda. The blocos start playing moving at random anytime, anywhere; the blocos are humble, usually less than ten people with old instruments; however, soon there is a crowd following the block. It is not unusual that a block meets another (casually), and the crowds gladly swap leaders. Some bigger and older blocks attract a captive audience; every year, groups of friends decide to form a new block, many of which last only one carnival. One is never far away from a block during the carnival days in Olinda and Recife. Several blocks have a satiric theme (e.g., blocks criticizing Bush or bin-Laden), but never are ideologies taken seriously. Some caveats: Olinda was built on hills, some of them very steep; the party takes place in the streets of the city, and a consequence of this is a shortage of toillets; some people exagerate in the concept of a "unruled carnival". In Recife, the most important carnival event is the "Galo da Madrugada" (Rooster of the Dawn). It's just that: a huge statue of a rooster goes ahead, and a huge crowd (over 2 million people) follows it, singing and dancing; this is a completely spontaneous event, which started small and grew just by word or mouth. Visit the next link for an outdated site about the Galo da Madrugada. Click the link for more info about the carnival in Olinda and Recife Carnival of Recife Read also: Carnival in Salvador Carnival in Rio Back to Top