Well, I will sleep better knowing Manaus is a Scorpio like me. Manaus celebrated its birthday on October 24 and I celebrated mine October 25. When you get to be my age there isn't much to celebrate but considering Boi Bumba came to town this past weekend I splurged.
Boi Bumba is truly spectacular and in my opinion, if you have been to the Amazonas and have not seen Boi Bumba then you never have been to the Amazonas. I covered the folk lore festivals in a previous post but Boi Bumba is by far the largest of all the folk lore festivals in the Amazonas and its grand show "Parintins Festival" which usually takes place in June, is second largest festival in Brazil. Carnival comes in first.
There are two 'flavors' of Boi Bumba - Caprichoso and Garantido. Anyone born and raised, or adopted in the Amazonas (like me) will tell you. You can only be one or the other - you can not support both. The rivalry is extremely intense - but when the dance begins everyone unites as one.
I identify with Caprichoso because the music seems to be more lively and upbeat, whereas Garantido tends to be slower and boring [my opinion hehe].
A trip to the Amazonas without seeing Boi Bumba is just unthinkable to me. The only reason I like the Amazonas is because of its folk lore - music, dance, festivals. That isn't to say if an opportunity knocks I won't leave for another state and return for every Boi Bumba appearance.
[left: Caprichoso - Symbol Star; right: Garantido - Symbol Heart]
Read More about Boi Bumba: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumba_Meu_Boi
Read More about Parintins Festival: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parintins_Folklore_Festival
Hi Matt,
ReplyDeleteFantastic photos of a fantastic cultural festival. Despite all the prejudice Brazilians in SP, RJ, MG and ES have for other Brazilians from the north and northeast, you sure won't find them having any kind of large event like this without it ending up in some kind of major brawl and maybe somebody getting killed in the process. Manaus, just happy people getting down to some serious partying.... greatest thing there is IMHO
Your pics make me wish I was back in Manaus (if I could only handle the brutal heat!)
Cheers,
James
Thanks, James. Your absolutely right. They just want to have fun and that don't mind sweating through it. The heat is unbearable but when you are having fun you forget about it.
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