After you have seen surging wave ultraconservative who has brought Jair Bolsonaro for the presidency of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro is about to experience from Friday, a carnival of protest, which showcases the women, the Blacks and the Indians.

Mestre, one of the schools most popular, has chosen to show the hidden face of the brazilian history, representative, on his chariots, the heroes of “popular” often absent from school books. “The traditional history has chosen its heroes, erected its monuments, but the Indians, the Blacks and the poor have not been transformed into statues,” says the artistic director of this school, Leandro Vieira. Mestre draws the names of unsung heroes, such as Dandara, warrior black and wife of Zumbi dos Palmares, leader emblematic of the revolt of the slaves in the Seventeenth century.

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Tribute to Marielle Franco

The words of the song, which is punctuated in the loop Monday night during the parade call the colonization of Brazil by Portugal from 1500 to invasion rather than a discovery. “We show the courage of the Blacks, referring to characters who are very important, in particular black women, but also the Indians, to show who are the real builders of the history of Brazil,” says Evelyn Bastos, which will scroll as the Queen of the drums of Mestre, in the heart of a group of percussionists.

The song also pays tribute to Marielle Franco, councillor black Rio was born in a favela and vocal advocate for minorities, who was murdered there nearly a year. His ex-girlfriend Monica Benicio will participate in the parade of the school.

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Jean-Paul Gaultier with Portela

Other school very traditional Rio carnival, Portela will pay tribute to Clara Nunes, a singer from the 70’s who eulogized in music the religions of afro-brazilians, today criticized by some representatives of the evangelical churches that support openly Jair Bolsonaro.

“At this time, a lot of people are victims of discrimination because of the colour of their skin, their religion and their sexual orientation,” says Raphael Perucci, one of the spokesperson of the school. “This is why it is important to pay tribute to Clara Nunes, who embodies the religious tolerance, in these times of crispatio””, he adds.

Portela, who is celebrating 96 years in April, a guard in the greatest secrecy, costumes Jean-Paul Gaultier. The French couturier, who will not be in Rio for the Carnival, has drawn the costumes of the 120 members of the school will parade in the night of Monday to Tuesday.

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budget Restrictions

Despite all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the fabulous parades in the sambodromo, the schools have increasingly difficult to balance their budgets. The ex-evangelical pastor Marcelo Crivella, mayor of Rio since the beginning of 2017, has halved the subsidies of the carnival. The spokesperson of Portela said that the schools had received only half of the 500.000 réais (nearly 117,000 euros) to which they are intended.

The mayor, who has never hidden his reluctance to exuberance and carnal festivities, considers that such funding should be provided by the private sector. Despite these difficulties, the carnival remains a sacred ritual in a country struggling economically and divided by the tensions of an election campaign, particularly disadvantageous that resulted in the coming to power of a president of the extreme right. “The carnival, it is like the world Cup. In the end, all the marching people are workers who want to have fun, at least once a year,” says Raphael Perucci.

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