How Carnival in Brazil Can Help Us Understand Latin America

Carnival in Brazil has become one of the most famous and widely celebrated festivals in the world, known for the parades at the Sambadrome, the street blocos and processions, the dazzling costumes, and the bohemian atmosphere.

Despite its grandeur, its origins are neither Brazilian nor Latin American. Precisely for this reason, understanding what makes this phenomenon so unique requires examining its particularities, meanings, and interpretations over time.

In this context, this article seeks to explore Latin America and, above all, understand how today’s Brazil can be interpreted through Carnival.

Who Invented Carnival?

Brought from Portugal to Brazil, the Entrudo festivities, with their strong Christian roots, marked the beginning of Lent.

The term derives from the Latin introitus, meaning ‘entry’ or ‘beginning’. Its origins in Europe date back to festivals celebrating the arrival of spring, which were later redefined within Christianity.

In the Christian calendar, these festive days run from Sabato Grasso (Fat Saturday) to Ash Wednesday. Even today, the exact date of Carnival is set as the Tuesday that falls 47 days before Easter.

Lent is a religious rite of preparation to celebrate Christ’s resurrection at Easter and involved practices such as fasting, abstinence from meat, self-mortification, charity, and prayer. However, upon arriving in Brazil, the activities practised by the population diverged from religious rituals, assuming their own unique and popular characteristics.

How Was the Entrudo Celebrated?

Entrudo was played out in the streets of cities and involved activities such as molhadelas, where people threw dirty water mixed with mud and urine at each other, and limões de cheiro, small wax balls filled with fragrant liquids.

Revellers painted their faces and took to the streets to play, with no music, but plenty of lively interactions. Meanwhile, elite families remained indoors, hosting private parties and limiting their participation to throwing liquids and coloured powders from their windows at passers-by.

Entrudo was banned in 1841 but continued to be practised clandestinely on a smaller scale. Campaigns were launched against the ‘barbarity’ of these popular practices, while at the same time, elite balls and parties—deemed more ‘polished’ and profitable—were promoted.
Private celebrations gradually evolved into grand masquerade balls, which, over time, moved onto the streets and gained popularity. The upper class formed exclusive societies and paraded, while the working classes adapted Entrudo, giving rise to cordões and ranchos.

Initially, ballroom parties in clubs and theatres had polka as the main rhythm, but in the 19th century, marchinhas (carnival songs) emerged, and samba began to take shape in the early 20th century. Around the same time, afoxés arrived in Bahia, and frevo became popular in Recife.

The following 100 years saw various transformations: the emergence of convertible car parades, the establishment of samba schools and their competitions, as well as the introduction of permits, regulations, and bureaucratic oversight. Carnival embraced trios elétricos, witnessed the birth of the Sambódromo, and grew into a massive tourism event, expanding further every year.

Carnival in Latin America

The history of Carnival’s arrival in Brazil resembles that of other Latin American countries, each with its own particularities. Here’s a look at three other major Carnivals in the region.

Colombia

The Carnaval de Barranquilla in Colombia is one of the biggest in the world and a major expression of the country’s Caribbean culture. Its origins trace back not only to Spanish Catholic colonisation but also to celebrations in Cartagena de Indias, where African-descended people took to the streets with dances, music, and costumes.One of the most iconic moments of the festival is the Battle of Flowers, a float parade created to promote peace after the Thousand Days’ War (1899–1902). The Carnival concludes with the burial of Joselito Carnaval, a folkloric character symbolising the end of the revelry. In 2008, the event was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Bolivia

In Bolivia, the origins of Carnival are linked to the festivities of the Andean Uru people, who held the Oruro celebrations. With the arrival of the Spanish, these festivities were banned, but today, the Carnaval de Oruro is recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The central figure of the celebration is the Virgen del Socavón, honoured on 2 February and present in dances and festivities that last for ten days. Each Bolivian city has its own Carnival traditions. In Sucre, for example, the Carnaval de Antaño recreates colonial-era events. In Cochabamba, groups parade to traditional rhythms such as caporales, morenada, negritos, and tobas.

In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the Fiesta Grande de los Cruceños takes place—the country’s largest and oldest Carnival, dating back to 1561. During the celebrations, people dance to traditional musical styles like taquirari, chovena, brincao, ático, kaluyo, and chamamé.Another major symbol of Bolivian Carnival is the diablada, a traditional dance from Oruro, in which participants wear large devil masks. This cultural element has become a strong symbol of Bolivian identity and, over time, has spread to Chile and Peru, even being incorporated into some Brazilian communities.

Watch this vídeo about Carnival in Bolivia

Ecuador

In Ecuador, Carnival celebrations merge Catholic Lent traditions with the indigenous Pawkar Raymi festival, which marks the end of the solar year and the beginning of a new agricultural cycle. The festivities are bursting with colour, featuring vibrant costumes, face painting, and playful activities involving water, flour, talcum powder, eggs, and Carnival foam.A key highlight of Ecuadorian Carnival is the song El Carnaval de Guaranda, which has become the festival’s official anthem. This tune accompanies float parades and brass band performances and is famous for its humorous and picturesque lyrics. Additionally, each city in Ecuador has its own traditions and unique ways of celebrating the festival, adding to the rich diversity of the event.

Carnival is all about diversity

In the early Roman Carnivals, the festival represented a temporary suspension of everyday social order, allowing normally repressed behaviours to surface during these days of revelry. Under Catholic influence, Carnival incorporated elements of self-restraint, becoming a space where contrasting behaviours interacted.

Throughout history, this interaction has been marked by periods of greater freedom and moments of control and repression. At times, certain practices have been banned and regulated, while at others, permissiveness has prevailed. In Brazil, this cycle is reflected in the past prohibition of Entrudo and, more recently, in restrictions imposed on certain street blocos.

With freedom comes the indirect questioning of everything considered normative: social stratification, class divisions, racial inequalities, sexuality, monogamy, hygiene, politeness, sobriety, and self-discipline. During the festivities, these boundaries are tested, and unexpected behaviours emerge, marking Carnival as a space of transgression and experimentation.

However, this temporary disruption of norms may fade as soon as Ash Wednesday arrives, remaining only in the imagination until it resurfaces the following year. Or, perhaps, the openness experienced during the festival allows for a broader and more complex understanding of oneself and others, leaving an impact that extends beyond Carnival itself.

Roberto DaMatta, one of the foremost scholars of Carnival, explores this in his book Carnivals, Rogues and Heroes, analysing the festival as a liminal space where social roles are momentarily reversed. During this period, there is a temporary suspension of social order, allowing gender roles, hierarchies, and social identities to blur. Almost everything that is normally condemned by a conservative society becomes visible and, in some ways, legitimised during Carnival.

This grand celebration of life may have various origins—whether marking the start of a new agricultural cycle, the arrival of spring, the birth of Jesus, Andean festivities, or the syncretic tradition that Carnival has taken on over the centuries.

Regardless of its origins, the festival is eagerly anticipated by revellers every year. People from all over the world come to Brazil to celebrate alongside locals, drawn to the sense of freedom that Carnival in Brazil provides.

LGBTQIAP+ Carnival

Carnival is often associated with the idea that ‘anything queer is possible’ and that absolute sexual freedom reigns. However, this perception does not fully reflect reality.

João Silvério Trevisan, in his writings on LGBTQIAP+ history in Brazil, highlights that the 20th century saw a violent wave of social ‘cleansing’, which criminalised, pathologised, and persecuted queer people. In this context, Carnival, by temporarily suspending reality, allowed some playfulness and experimentation with gender and sexual identities—but without guaranteeing genuine social acceptance.

Despite being known as ‘the greatest party in the world,’ Brazil remains a historically conservative country. Nevertheless, since the 1970s, various social movements have fought for LGBTQIAP+ rights, expanding spaces of inclusion within the festival.

Today, many blocos and events promote safe, respectful, and diverse environments for LGBTQIAP+ communities. Among the most popular are Divinas Tretas, Meu Santo é Pop, Bloco Dramas de Sapatão, TriboQ Bloco, and CarnaPride.

Carnival Is Not About Disrespect

Carnival is one of the biggest tourism events in Latin America, attracting people from all over the world who come to celebrate traditional festivities and local cultures. However, despite the intoxicating atmosphere of freedom that the festival provides, it is essential to remember that respect must always be upheld.

One ongoing issue during Carnival is the hypersexualisation of women and street harassment, which not only tarnish the festive spirit but are also criminal acts. This kind of violence reinforces patriarchal structures and restricts women’s freedom. In recent years, campaigns such as Não é Não (‘No Means No’) have been widely promoted through leaflets, stickers, and government-backed initiatives to raise awareness and combat harassment during the celebrations.

Another important discussion that has gained traction over the past fifteen years concerns Carnival ethics. The use of costumes and decorative elements that are offensive to structurally oppressed communities has been increasingly questioned.

This debate is not about limiting freedom but about ensuring that Carnival remains a genuinely inclusive and respectful space. In Brazil, for example, it is now widely recognised that people should not dress up as Indigenous, Black, LGBTQIAP+, or Romani people, as ethnicities and identities are not costumes.

Carnival: Hope, Happiness, and Freedom

Every year, in the months leading up to Carnival in Brazil, excitement begins to take hold. Enthusiasm builds, and everyone prepares for a moment that will undoubtedly be chaotic, vibrant, and full of energy.

More than just a festival, Carnival has the power to renew spirits, transform exhaustion, and mark a much-needed reset for nearly everyone.

While the most extroverted throw themselves into the celebrations, those who prefer to avoid the ‘chaos’ escape to the countryside, taking advantage of the holiday for some peace and quiet. In the end, Carnival is, in its own way, a time for everyone.