Carnival in Bahia © JB Online March 2003 - Opening of the carnival in Salvador, BA, at the Pelourinho, historical center of Salvador Bahia, land of rich and diversified cultural traditions, has one of Brazil's happiest carnival celebrations. The festivities begin on a Friday, when the famous "Rei Momo" (King Momo), a typical character of the Brazilian carnival, receives in a public square the symbolical keys of the city. A large number of tourists from many cities of Brazil and other countries are attracted to the capital of the state, Salvador. Over 140 organized carnival groups, known as "blocos" spread themselves on the streets of Salvador during carnival. © JB Online March 2003 - Bloco "Mulheradas" in Salvador, BA   © JB Online March 2003 - "Bloco das Baianas" in Salvador, BA   © O Estadão Trio Elétrico in Bahia  Salvador is the home of the famous "trios elétricos" (electric trios, if translated literally), a kind of music float. Brazilian singers and groups perform at the top of a truck with musicians and speakers in the streets of Salvador. The "trios elétricos" were created in the 50s by the musicians Dodô (Adolfo Nascimento) and Osmar (Osmar Macedo). At first, the "trio elétrico" was called "electric pair" (because it was formed only by Dodô and Osmar). After another musician, Temístocles Aragão, joined the pair, it began to be called "trio elétrico". The first "trio elétrico" went out the Salvador streets in 1950 . It was an old Ford T, released in 1929, with two speakers on top. The car's owner, Osmar Macedo, and his friend Adolfo do Nascimento, nicknamed Dodô, decided to play "frevos" (a musical style created in Pernambuco) using their electrified guitars and amplifiers. Soon, they had invented a new way of celebrating carnival and achieved success with the people following them and dancing on the streets. Local businesses began to sponsor the "trio elétricos", and these groups of musicians playing on the back of a truck became extremely popular. Dodô and Osmar achieved a huge popularity and soon the old car was replaced by a van and became known as "Trio Elétrico de Dodô e Osmar". In 1952, they were given a truck. Along the next years, other trios were created in Bahia and the carnival trucks turned into a sort of trade mark to the local parties. Today, the "trios elétricos" play every musical genre, from reggae to classical in modern instruments. They entertain carnival balls, provide musical background to political conventions etc. They became a fantastic machine of sound and light, capable of dragging a multitude of up to 20.000 people. The trios carry 27 tons of sound equipment. The sophisticated ones have 230 speakers, 32 horns, 80 tweeters, 54 amplifiers and two computers to guarantee the musical instruments' tone and the appropriate volume. The whole system may have 30,000 Watts and may send the sound to three miles. In addition, it has a fantastic light system, with over 12 light cannons and 900 color lamps. © Portal Terra Salvador - March, 3 2003 - Trio Bloco Coruja   Some famous "trios elétricos" in Bahia are the Tapajós, created in 1959, the Marajós, the Tupinambás, the Saborosa, the Ypiranga and the Cinco Irmãos. All these trios gather thousands of people during carnival in Bahia, driving the crowd crazy with their frantic rhythm.  Other mini trios, connected to "blocos" (group of people who parade on the streets) were created later. These "blocos" that are followed by the "trios elétricos" are called "blocos de trio". © Portal Terra Salvador - March, 3 2003 - Trio Bloco Camaleão These mini trios are like stages installed on top of the trucks, with an excellent quality of sound, lights and effects. The most famous are the "blocos" Eva, Trás os Montes, Cheiro de Amor, Camaleão and Pinel.  Decorated trucks that can cost up to half a million dollars now parade everywhere, up and down the hills of the city with the musicians on top, followed by hundreds of thousands of people. Carnival in Bahia is famous not only for the "trios elétricos" or the "blocos de trio", but also to the force of other cultural street manifestations like the "afoxés" and the "blocos Afro". They value the African culture and honor their "mother Africa". Culturally, these "blocos" represent the vital force of the black people from Bahia. The "blocos" Afros emerged during Brazil's transition to democracy in the mid 70s that facilitated the creation of black political organizations. The most famous "blocos" Afros are the Ilê Aiyê (the first "bloco" Afro, established in 1974), Malê Debalê, Araketu, ObáLaiyê, Puxada Carnavalesca Axé and Olodum. Olodum achieved international popularity with the recording of Paul simon's CD "The Rhythm of the Saints". © JB Online March 2003 - Bloco Olodum   The "afoxés" are important artistic expressions in Bahia's cultural life and they are the oldest black organizations to perform in Bahia's Carnival, dating to the end of the nineteenth century. © Portal Terra Salvador - March, 3 2003 - Afoxé Filhos de Gandhi © Portal Terra Salvador - March, 3 2003 - Afoxé Filhos de Gandhi The first "afoxé" appeared in 1895 showing the people the aspects of the Candomblé rituals. Closely tied to ancient rituals of devotion to Candomblé and the African religious traditions in Brazil, the "afoxés" members, dressed in white outfits, parade in a venerable way in celebration of their Orishas, singing and dancing to African-derived rhythms to the sound of "atabaques" (long cylindrical drums). Its members are united by African-Brazilian religions, dances and rhythms. They value the cultural African traditions transported to Bahia assimilated within a new reality. Even with social and cultural changes, the groups still maintain several African characteristic elements. They sing chants in African dialects and play percussion instruments, such as "atabaques" and "agogôs". They also wear traditional colors and symbols that recall the African religious cults. The "afoxé" Filhos de Gandhi (Gandhi's sons), supported by the Brazilian writer Jorge Amado and the composer Gilberto Gil, was founded in 1949 and is the most traditional and famous "afoxé" in Bahia. Its members parade wearing a white outfit and turbants, and most of them are black men connected to the innumerous Candomblé "terreiros" (place where African religious ceremonies take place) in Bahia.   © JB Online March 2003 - Afoxé Filhos de Gandhi, at Castro Alves Square, in Salvador, BA     * Back to the Carnival Menu *     This page was created on: January 20th 2002. Last updated on: February 10th 2005. [ Site Index ] [ Home ]   | Back to the Brazilian Menu | Some information obtained at Ministerio das Relações Exteriores and O Estadão. ~ Miss Price Graphics ~ Graphics by Irene ~ Country Patch Collections ~ Midi "Festa do Interior" from Som Brasil ~  Nothing in this site is Public Domain. Graphics are copyrighted by various artists and are used with permission. Please, click on the links above to visit the sites were you can download the graphics from. Do not save anything from my pages, please.