Mixing faith and Carnival can sometimes be dangerous—especially in the eyes of religious groups that are tired of Rio de Janeiro’s carnival parades vilifying their creed.
The most recent protest comes from IPCO (Instituto Plínio Corrêa de Oliveira), Catholics who honor, in their name, the founder of the ultra-conservative TFP (Tradition, Family and Property).
In a petition, IPCO says "no to the samba of Mangueira that blasphemies against Christ". There has been no revelry in recent years, "in which the Sacred Face of Jesus is not insulted, always in the name of 'freedom of expression'", the text said.
They weren't the only ones who detest "A Verdade Vos Fará Livre (The Truth will set us Free)", the 2020 theme from the Rio de Janeiro samba school.
One of the largest evangelical online sites, Gospel Prime, published four months ago that Mangueira would embrace Liberation Theology, "which seeks to deconstruct Christian doctrines".
Amplified in the 1970s, the Latin American movement incorporated speeches of social justice into the Catholic Church and won the label of leftist.
The theologian Leonardo Boff has been showing enthusiasm with the "Jesus da Gente" of green and pink, with "black face, Indian blood, woman's body".
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon