January 12 - Carnival

Sorry this post is out of order - but I had a chance to go back through some of my photos.

Carnival is like nothing I have ever seen before. The bands play on stages that are permenantly built into large transport trucks (Tractor-Trailer Trucks). There are seven or eight of these bands/trucks. They start at the north end of the main beach road in Aracaju and travel south about 5km. They travel very slowly, so it takes about 4-5 hours to travel the distance.

The trucks are separated so that the music doesn´t overlap. Some of the bands are very famous - while others are less so.

Each truck is surrounded by a "Block". The block contains the Band Truck, another truck which follows for the fans who have paid to dance in the block. The second truck contains a bar, washrooms and first aid station in the trailer. On top of the truck is an area for fans to stand, dance or sit. Surrounding the block is a rope that is held by hundreds of workers. The rope is a moving perimeter around the trucks - in the shape of a large rectangle. Fans who have paid around $100 get a coloured tee shirt and are allowed to follow the trucks within the rope. The rope handlers only let people with the correct tee-shirt (those who have paid) into the Block. There are thousands and thousands of people following the best bands. The block is entirely full of people. Most of these people start dancing at the very start, and continue dancing for five hours until the Band/Truck reaches the end. About mid way down the avenue the band stops for the TV cameras.

Outside the Block - other people either follow the band, or watch all the bands pass. Usually these people would follow a band for a bit, then backtrack and follow the next one.

A secure perimeter is set up by police around the entire down town. You have to go through airport like security to get to the street.

There is also a large police presence throughout the area, with groups of police petrolling on foot, police towers (like lifeguard stands) at intervals, and special forces police petrolling in vehicles that follow the crowd.

We were able to watch from a 12th floor penthouse condo. There were somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000 people on the street. Paulo took me out into the street when a few of the bands passed, and it was shoulder to shoulder. At one point we were pushed out of the way by a group of police who were trying to get through the crowd.

The music is very loud. The rythm forces you to start to dance with the crowd. It was an amazing experience..

There is a tradition in Aracaju, that many men dress up as women in red skirts. I forget what they are called. Very strange, but they have a lot of fun. Paulo tells me that gay men are not allowed. The fans of the first band were from this group only. You can see the red outfits in the photo.

Everywhere that there is space - is filled with people.

If you look closely, you can see the tractor trailer unit with the band and stage on top of the trailer. All the speakers and amplifiers are built into the trailer.

If you look closely, you can see the difference between the people within the block (on the top side of the street around the band/truck) and the others outside the Block (mostly on the bottom of the photo. You can also see the rope, with the workers in their orange shirts. There is a second, smaller rope around the front of the truck to keep the dancers from getting run over...

In this photo you can see the party stretching all the way North to the end of the avenues. There are about five Trucks (Blocks) visible in this photo - and we are approximately at the 1/2 way point, so it stretches an equal distance in the other direction.

This is a christmas tree that is on a sand bar visible from the main avenue. It is 140 meters high. The lights change, and some are coloured. It is very interesting to watch.

Carnaval lasts until about 4 in the morning, and runs for 4 days. May people participate every day. I don´t think much work gets done during the day time as everyone seems to be up all night for the party. We left early, and got home around 2am.