The mobilization of 5 million revelers estimated by the Municipality of Belo Horizonte will make this the biggest carnival in the history of the city. Since the street blocks gained strength again in 2009, the public that takes over the neighborhoods of the capital of Minas Gerais has grown exponentially. In 2023, after two years without Carnival due to the covid-19 pandemic, the municipality is betting on the anxiety of residents and visitors to quell the nostalgia of the biggest popular festival in the country. “The revelry in the capital of Minas Gerais will have an extensive and decentralized program, distributed by the nine regional areas of the city. Organized spontaneously, one of the main attractions of the party is its democratic and plural essence”, registers a note published on the city hall’s website. With the registration of 493 street blocks, the municipality already registers a record. The number far exceeds the 347 registered at the last carnival, in 2020. As some of them parade more than once, 538 processions are planned for this year. Some of them have already occurred over the course of this week. The full schedule can be found on the city’s website. This weekend, there are options in almost every region of the city. According to city hall projections, the revelry should generate R$ 600 million and generate more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. A total of 16,100 street vendors were registered, about 10% more than in 2020. Street occupation The resumption of the strength of the street carnival in Belo Horizonte had as its starting point a movement formed by artists and university students that emerged in 2009. They created playful ways to contest restrictive measures for the occupation of public space, in particular a municipal decree that prohibited events at Praça da Estação, in the center of the city. The blocks were emerging with the intention of occupying the streets of the capital of Minas Gerais through the revelry. After 14 years, most of the blocks that consolidated themselves as a reference in the programming of this carnival organize parades that entertain and also carry political flags: there are manifestations critical of machismo, homophobia, racism and defense of agendas linked to the democratization of culture and inclusion Social. Blocks such as So Brilha, Juventude Bronzeada, Tchanzinho Zona Norte, Chama o Síndico, Pena de Pavão de Krishna, Angola Janga, Filhos de Tcha Tcha and Alcova Libertina are expressions of this movement. At the same time, they foster an aesthetically and musically plural carnival in view of the specific colors and rhythms observed in each one. There are parades for all tastes: it is possible to move from samba to rock, passing through axé, Brazilian popular music, jazz and even mantras referenced in Indian culture. To support this year’s street carnival, the Municipal Tourism Company (Belotur), linked to the city hall, launched a public notice for financial aid at the end of last year. A total of R$ 1.6 million was invested, which included 95 blocks. Through social networks, the blocks have been disclosing information about their open rehearsals and parades. An exception is the Alcova Libertina. Famous for transforming national and international rock classics into carnival songs, he announced on his networks that he will only return to the parade in 2024. missing all the mass that always carried us around the block, but soon we’ll be back”, registers the post. Other attractions The official opening of the carnival took place on February 1st, when Mayor Fuad Noman symbolically handed over the key to the city to the Royal Momesca Court. On the occasion, the attractions that will take place in the capital of Minas Gerais were also announced. In 14 cultural centers, concerts, exhibitions, workshops and children’s dances will take place. The parades of samba schools on Avenida Afonso Pena are confirmed for Carnival Tuesday (21st). Since 1956, Belo Horizonte associations have performed similarly to what happens today, guided by samba-enredo. In the years that preceded the resurgence of the street blocks, they were the main attraction of a timid carnival with a small audience. The winners are defined by a group of judges who analyze nine technical requirements. To support the associations, the city hall allocated BRL 230,000 for the subsidy of the Special Group, an amount 15% higher than the last edition of 2020. Characteristic of the Belo Horizonte revelry, the caricatured blocks perform on the Monday (20) of Carnival. They became a parade category in the 1950s, but their origin is still not fully known to historians. Among some hypotheses, they may have been influenced by the floats that departed from clubs and societies at the beginning of the 20th century or the corso (parades in common floats), which existed since the founding of the city, in 1897. On the corso, families paraded in costume their private cars, at a time when vehicles were more open and people were able to stand on the sides. In the cartoon blocks, the battery goes on top of a truck. Also traditional at the carnival in the capital of Minas Gerais, the Marchinha Mestre Jonas Contest will not take place this year. The event usually enshrines compositions that parody events in national social and political life, such as the classics Imagina na Copa, from 2013, and O Baile do Pó Royal, from 2014, which were disseminated through social networks. The producer Cria Cultura, which organizes the dispute, foresees the resumption in 2024.
Agência Brasil
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