Water came down, but only that sprayed from the balconies of the historic mansions by their residents, who, recalling the old plays of Entrudo—the predecessor of Carnival—now served mainly to refresh the revelers under the strong sun, 32°C in the shade.
People of all ages, eager to join the party and revel in the midst of the processions of one of the country's most traditional Carnivals, braved the scorching heat, which amidst the crowd was even more intense. There was a kind of pent-up energy, eager to be released.
This is the first Carnival in São Luiz do Paraitinga since 2020. The editions of 21 and 22 didn't happen because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Edition 23 was canceled due to the rains that hit the district of Catuçaba, located about 20 km away. Still, there was a parade, but on the ground. The 2024 version of Carnival came back in full force. "It was almost an orgasm," celebrated Galvão Frade, one of the greatest composers of marchinhas from São Luiz do Paraitinga, winner of a series of genre contests. He is the mentor leading the Maricota carnival group, which, this Sunday (11), left from in front of the chapel of Our Lady of Mercies, a heritage site protected by Condephaat (Council for the Defense of Historical, Archaeological, Artistic and Touristic Heritage), taking with it a legion of followers. Highlighted at the back of the truck, the five members of the group led by Frade, who is also the city's Director of Culture, sang a classic, the marchinha that tells Maricota's story.
The song references the gesture of, to get into the carnival mood, "messing up the clown", in a mix of rhythms in which the congada stands out. As usual in São Luiz carnival groups, one song is sung and repeated several times throughout the approximately one-hour route. Amidst the mountains of the Paraíba Valley, right on the way between Taubaté and Ubatuba, the tiny São Luiz do Paraitinga, a city with just over 10,000 inhabitants, sees a crowd almost three times larger than its population taking over the streets of the historic center. One of the producers of Abloc (Association of Carnival Groups), Fábio Gomes, 46, explains that in this return of the party, 13 shows and 27 carnival groups were scheduled for the festivities that will end this Tuesday (13), benefiting from a transfer grant via ProAC, a state mechanism for cultural project incentives.
With about 30 musicians, the Bebêbum carnival group, which emerged in the cultural scene of São Luiz in 1995, led the crowd to mimic the sarcastic "look" of the group—this year, they debuted the performance on top of a truck. Like its members, the followers also wore diapers and caps. There were many who even paraded with a bottle in their mouths. "São Luiz is a city full of artists," says Aguinaldo Salinas, 48, one of the creators of Bebêbum. "This naturally favors an environment of authenticity. We are a band from the bandstand, from the brass band, that moves between this universe of the playful, the childish, with the baby and the nanny, and that of the drunkard," he explains.
In a city that circulates with ease between the sacred and the profane, celebrates the cachaça bottle in Carnival, commemorates the folkloric Saci, and blesses all kinds of beliefs in the Feast of the Divine Holy Spirit, creativity is something intrinsic to the DNA of its residents. In her wanderings in search of horseback rides through the hills and adventures on trails behind waterfalls, psychiatrist Cris Taeko, 61, upon arriving in São Luiz from São Paulo, questioned herself: "Is it a circus or a madhouse?" Initially, she intended to turn the city into the setting for a doctoral thesis in her research area.
Thirty years later, she is passionate about São Luiz. The study was left behind. For 12 years, the São Paulo native has been singing in the Pé na Cova carnival group, which parades in front of the cemetery on Sundays and Tuesdays of Carnival, led by six members. "Singing here is to be part of the city's charms," says Taeko, who, believe it or not, doesn't like crowds. At 72 years old, "forty of them partying," in the sincere words of artist Benito Campos, Carnival is the moment to celebrate life. A traditional figure of the revelry, Campos delivered the opening speech of Carnival, which officially took place on Saturday (10), when he led the historic Juca Teles carnival group, created in 1983. Through the streets of Paraitinga, the carnival group pays homage to the court official Benedito de Souza Pinto. A festive man, connected to Catholic interpretations, he created the character Juca Teles do Sertão das Cotias to revel until he dropped (who hasn't?). In the first half of the last century, he went out barefoot.
Often, he wore clogs. He dressed in a black tailcoat and top hat. A charm. More than that, perhaps a symbolic gesture of what represents the essence of the Carnival of São Luiz do Paraitinga, one of the most authentic in Brazil. In his homage to Juca Teles, the folklorist Campos represents an icon of rescuing the carnival culture characteristic of the city. Like the revelers who flock to him, Juca Teles and Benito Campos hope to follow the same playbook announced at the beginning of the festivity, but which may be useful for many other Carnivals: "...Therefore, lovers of life, time travelers, revel."