Popular festivals

A popular festival is a celebration performed by the community itself, repeated every year, with music, dance, food, costumes and rituals passed from parents to children. Unlike a concert, it happens mostly in the street, and the visitor takes part: follows the bloco, dances the quadrilha, joins the procession.

On this kind of trip, the attraction has a fixed start and end date. So you plan the itinerary in reverse of the usual order: first the calendar, then transport and lodging, and only then the sightseeing for free days.

In the Ministry of Tourism’s classification, festivals are part of cultural tourism. Some, such as frevo and the bumba meu boi of Maranhão, are recognized by UNESCO as intangible heritage. Pilgrimages, processions and other religious festivals belong to spiritual travel.

At Carnival, each city has its own style. In Rio de Janeiro, samba schools parade in the Sambódromo of Marquês de Sapucaí, and blocos take the streets from the previous weeks. In Salvador, trios elétricos run the circuits from Barra to Ondina and Campo Grande, followed by crowds. In Olinda, the celebration climbs and descends the historic center’s hills to the sound of frevo, with giant puppets and cord-free blocos that anyone can join.

In June, Campina Grande, in Paraíba, and Caruaru, in Pernambuco, hold São João festivities that last about a month. In São Luís, Maranhão, bumba meu boi occupies the arraiais throughout the month, and the celebration ends on June 30 with the meeting of the groups in honor of São Marçal.

At the end of June, the island of Parintins, on the Amazon River, hosts the Folkloric Festival. For three nights, the bois Garantido, red, and Caprichoso, blue, compete for the title in the Bumbódromo with allegories, toadas and supporters who do not boo the opponent: they remain silent. You reach the island by boat or plane.

In October, Blumenau, in Santa Catarina, holds Oktoberfest with parades, bands and German traditional dress. In the Serra Gaúcha, the Festa da Uva celebrates the harvest between January and March in the years it is held, and mountain towns in the South and Southeast concentrate winter festivals in July.

Lodging is the first step. At major festivals, rooms near the circuit sell out months in advance, and many properties only sell packages for every day. Staying in a more distant neighborhood or in a nearby town works, provided the return transport at night is organized.

Stands, boxes, and some street blocks require separate paid tickets and are sold in advance; the street party itself does not charge an entrance fee. Pack lightweight clothes, closed shoes that are already broken in, a rain poncho, and keep only a few items in your pockets.

Reserving one or two days without festivities helps you get to know the city and rest. It’s also wise to agree on meeting points with your group: in the middle of the crowd, phone service doesn’t always work.