Held in the wake of a period of the pandemic and with about two months delay, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo will be more timid, especially with regard to numbers and the participation of the population. But that doesn’t mean it will be less spectacular or less bold.
Bolsonaro and racism will pull the edge with clenched fists as a sign of grievance, both on the avenue and on the streets of the two capitals. Black identity and the expression of sadness left by the pandemic, which puts governance institutions directly in the sights of revelers.
The most fragile window is that of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). In São Paulo, one of the loudest cries of opposition to public power comes from the samba school Gaviões da Fiel, which parades second on Saturday (22) at Anhembi.
"It is a point [the policy of the current government] that we will take to our parade. Our plot is enough for different types of social injustice, and in the pandemic we observed situations of very strong injustice. So, we will make this denunciation", says Júlio Poloni, author of the school's plot.
Salgueiro will sing: "Today, captivity is a favela, of sentinel heirs, of the bullet that marks, like a whip, red in the skin of my heroes, they fought for us, against the gag."
"Whoever tries to chain a feeling, forgets that being free is a foundation, suburban hue, heritage of black, courage in fear!," will sing the members of the Portela parade.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon