Posts tagged with "traditions"

Brazilian Reveillon Traditions, Part I

Posted by polyana 1 Comment
Dec 29 2010

Reveillon? Oi? Yup, reveillon, or “new year,” is right around the corner already!!

And like with many other holidays, but especially for reveillon, Brazilians have all sorts of simpatias, or superstitions.  Since there are so many, I’m going to make this a 2 part post!!

First, we’re going to talk about colors and their meanings.  Most people traditionally wear white, which simbolizes a peaceful year ahead, and then women especially, wear different color underwear following the meanings below.  But hoje em dia, outfits are worn in various colors (but always paying attention to the simpatias!), and not just white!!

Roupa para o Reveillon

my outfit this year's somewhere along these lines...

I read this post on Toda Perfeita, a really girly Brazilian blog, that has a pretty complete description of each color and its meaning (boys, this counts for you too!):

Branco- vamos começar com a cor tendência do réveillon brasileiro; Essa é uma prática que herdamos da cultura africana, que acredita ser o branco, cor ideal para a atrair as energias positivas. Simboliza a paz, verdade, sabedoria, estimula a memória e proporciona equilíbrio interior.

Amarelo- use-a para ter dinheiro, riqueza e sabedoria – para gastar o dinheiro – o ano todo. Ajuda a estimular a intuição.

Rosa- para obter sorte no amor, beleza e afastar as energias negativas.

Vermelho- para quem quer romances intensos, muita paixão força e energia no novo ano é a cor indicada. Não quer se vestir de vermelho? Acessórios avermelhados já garantem sucesso na simpatia.

Azul- mas se o que você quer é calmaria, e literalmente que fique “tudo azul”, invista nessa tonalidade. Harmonia e saúde também são atraídos por essa cor.

Verde- representando as energias da natureza, o verde significa esperança, equilíbrio e recomeço. Renova as energias trazendo vida nova junto ao novo ano.

Laranja- assim como o amarelo, atrai sucesso financeiro. Proporciona um ano muito alegre, repleto de conquistas pessoais e profissionais. Se você está sonhando com aquela promoção ou procurando um emprego, o laranja é a cor certa.

Violeta- a cor da pedra filosofal, o violeta traz junto com o novo ano inspiração, sensibilidade, imaginação e estabilidade. Também eleva a auto-estima e ajuda a manter o foco. Ótima opção se seu objetivo no novo ano for a superação de algum obstáculo.

So for a recap in English…

Branco/White = peace, truth, wisdom, good memory and balance

Amarelo/Yellow = money, wealth and wisdom (to spend it!)

Rosa/Pink = luck in love, beauty and to drive away bad energy

Vermelho/Red = passion, strength and energy 

Azul/Blue = harmony,  health, and an overall calm year

Verde/Green = hope, balance and new beginnings

Laranja/Orange = financial success, happiness, professional and personal success

Violeta/Purple = inspiration, sensibility, imagination, stability; raises your self esteem and helps to keep you focused.

Doesn’t it make you want to just wear a rainbow?! Well, it doesn’t count… but don’t forget, the outfit, underwear and accessories count ;-)

Since I plan to have a 2011 with a lot of changes in my personal and professional life, I’m going to go with laranja this year (above is my dream reveillon outfit put together on ByMK)! What about you?

Now that you know what to wear on the 31st, keep an eye out for part II!

Carnival in Brazil: Rio de Janeiro

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Feb 26 2009

Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival is the best known worldwide. Though the most famous part is the Sambodrome parade, the blocos (street parades) are also the mainstay of Rio’s Carnival.

Over two nights, twelve samba schools parade down the avenue in the Sambodrome for 82 minutes. Judges analyze a number of aspects about each school, including costumes, song, theme, timing, and dancers. Each school picks a different theme and writes a samba to accompany the theme, along with enormous floats and intricate costumes. This year, Salgueiro took the big prize for best school of the year, while Imperio Serrano, which came in last place, will be moved down to the second division of samba schools. Blocos are very popular during Carnival, when groups of musicians and drummers march through the streets or stand on flat bed trucks singing, as revelers follow them through the streets.

This year, there were plenty of newsworthy stories. Before Carnival began, there was an international samba event, when dancers from all over the world came together to show off their samba skills. There was also a pet parade in Copacabana before the famous parades in the Sambodrome. This year, the samba school Grande Rio did a French theme, and dancers from Paris’ Moulin Rouge came to perform in the parade. The city mayor tried to exert control over the city during the Carnival chaos, while thousands took to the streets to attend the blocos. The Bola Preta bloco attracted the biggest crowd, with about a million people in attendance. The two parades of Special Group samba schools went on in all its glory, despite the economic crisis, with elaborate and creative costumes and floats. President Lula attended the first night, the first Brazilian president in fifteen years to do so.

Carnival in Brazil: Salvador

Posted by Rachel 1 Comment
Feb 25 2009

This week, we’re looking at the different Carnival celebrations in Brazil. Today, we’re going to look at Carnival in Salvador, in the northern state of Bahia.

Salvador’s Carnival is one of the largest outdoor celebrations in the world, attracting nearly three million people every year for the six day festival. In this city, huge crowds follow the trio elétrico, a group of musicians on top of a large truck that winds through the streets. People also sit in the grandstands and watch the trios parade.

The trio was first seen in 1929, when singer Dodô performed on top of a Ford. Today, large, open bed trucks are used.

Salvador is famous for several types of music including axé, an upbeat, frenetic genre and samba reggae, a mixture of African percussion, samba, and reggae. Today, the most famous performers who dominate the trios are Daniela Mercury, Ivete Sangalo, Claudia Leitte, Chiclete com Banana, and Olodum. There are also blocos afros, bands of people dressed in traditional African costumes playing percussion music in the streets.

New from this year’s Carnival in Salvador:

Daniela Mercury falls during show

Chiclete com Banana singer called Barack Bell

Photos from trios in 2009

Listen to this year’s Carnival songs from Salvador

Carnival in Brazil: Recife

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Feb 23 2009

Carnival began this past weekend across Brazil and though it officially lasts until Tuesday, some festivities continue throughout the week. So this week, we’ll take a look at the different Carnival celebrations throughout the country.

Today, we’re going to look at Recife’s Carnival.

The celebrations in Pernambuco’s capital and its immediate neighbor, Olinda, are known for being one of the finest traditional Carnivals in Brazil and one of the few that is completely free to the public. It also has the largest Carnival street band in the world, the Galo da Madrugada, that attracts 1.5 million revelers. This type of band is known as a bloco, a group of percussionists and singers that lead revelers through the streets.

Unlike Rio’s large samba schools, the city has small groups of friends and family that perform together. Along with samba, Recife’s celebration features other types of music like maracatu and frevo, music that developed in the Northeast. It is also famous for using bonecos gigantes, giant dolls, which are carried throughout the streets during the celebration.

This year, Recife and Olinda continued the Carnival tradition. The Galo da Madrugada attracted over a million partiers in costume, with several people dressed up as Barack Obama, Fidel Castro, and Brazilian president Lula. Obama also appeared as a giant doll, along with dolls made in the likeness of famous Brazilian singers, writers, TV personalities and athletes, like Pelé. Dilma Roussef, a high-level government official, attended the festivities.

News Links:

Galo da Madrugada (video, photos, text)

Bonecos gigantes (photos and text)

Dilma in Olinda (photos and text)

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