The laugh of a mask:
a look at social apartheid in the Brazilian Carnival

by Joaquim Aguiar Duarte
Graduated in Literature, Universidade Mackenzie, Sao Paulo, Brazil

When I was invited to write a few words about the Brazilian carnival, I was as flattered as sceptic and incredulous on what I was going to be able to write down about the party which Brazilians regard as the “greatest country’s popular feast”. From this “label”, one can promptly find out a problem on both the naming and on my point of view about this feast. Therefore I might be acquiring quite a few protests along with some hard comments about this very own observation. From now on, I shall get across that what follows is nothing but a particular point of view from someone who is not Brazilian, however has got to know a little about its culture. Moreover, as I am a Portuguese Language native speaker, and language is an important mean of expression, I find myself as a tiny part of Brazilian culture.

I would also like to record that these few words do not intend to be a sociological essay made of deep analysis on the Brazilian society behavior within this feast. Neither it should be read as the whole true, as I believe the true is nothing but a fragmented mirror, citing a Carlos Fuentes title.

But let us cut the nuisance and get straight to the very point of this article: The Brazilian Carnival. Carnival comes from the Portuguese shrovetide. It was brought by in the 17th century and it referred to a sort of preamble to the Lent. Above all, this feast carried a sense of freedom that remains so far. That freedom may mean a breaking of hierarchy that leads to the social class evenness. That evenness eases the debauch and the laugh relieving the inherent social classes resentment. We must emphasize that in ancient Rome a sort of social evenness feast called Saturnálias used to take place. Slaves, philosophers and tribunes mixed up in the crowd resulting in a hierarchy breaking. Also, the laugh and the debauch have always been part of popular culture. In the middle age, the popular theatres used to debauch on the higher hierarchy stratums causing laugh. Both the buffoon and the jester came together with it. Thus the laugh and the debauch have always been a mean of displaying the truth that might attenuate the most aggressive and brutal social affronts. Since the Carnival contains those characteristics mentioned above, it would be a kind of purge, a catarsis through which the social divergences should be solved by an approach of differences.

Therefore and considering what above was said, a question ha to be made: how is the Brazilian Carnival shown and how does it behave related to its main essence; the social classes evenness along with the hierarchy breaking which might take to a better social balance?

Regarding to that, we will take as an example the best and greatest world’s carnival: The Carnival of Rio de Janeiro. It’s true that the Samba Schools, the main protagonists of the carioca carnival, are placed within the poorest communities. It’s also true that most of the school workers and members belong to those communities. However, they are not the main attractions of the parade. That role is mainly booked to an elite of fashion models, Globo TV actresses and actors amidst other members of Brazilian social pyramid top. Otherwise, we must take a look at the structure of a Samba School defile.

The front committee, mestre-sala e porta-bandeira, the baianas row and others, defile on their feet, before or right after the allegoric cars. These cars, richly ornamented, are visual representations of samba-enredo presented by the School and are pushed along the avenue by men. On the platforms of those allegoric constructions one can observe the car detaches and, therefore, so it is the School’s. In view of those who walk on their feet, firstly mentioned, are, in the majority, African descendents and, thus, part of the lowest economical and social classes. The other ones, called detaches, belong to the upper economical and social stratum of the Brazilian society and, mostly, are European descendents. Then, it’s easily noticeable the comparing between the social Brazilian pyramid and the Rio de Janeiro Samba School structure. On the basis comes the most unfavoured castes, mainly black people who live in communities around the samba schools. On the top of the pyramid or, in this case, at the top of the allegoric car, the ones who represent a white, very economical favoured, elite. We can also note, as a comparative, that the first ones are more than the others.

In the very same way, the ones who watch the parade are separated by their economical and social position. The large corporations, beer brewers mainly, hold large cabins from where one can get the best view. At the terraces, the best places are also filled by a more economical favoured caste. So, we can say that the Carnival is a feast to be seen by either those who can afford it or those illustrated ones who are, then, invited.

We may accomplish that the so named “popular feast” is set to a specific economical and social caste both regarding to its protagonists and to those who watch it. Thus, the hierarchy breaking, the evenness and temporary social positions change seems to have vanished in that sort of feast. Thereby, the word “popular” is lack of meaning as it refers to the involvement rather than the benefit taken from it. And this is no place for referring to the competitiveness that takes place and it is not compatible to the sense of freedom inherent to the carnival.
One might say that there still are places in Brazil where the carnival parades are made on streets with the full participation of all. However, that is not the carnival proclaimed by the media neither the carnival Brazilians are proud of. The “popular greatest feast” is the one of samba schools parades, reproductive of both economical and social apartheid existing within Brazilian society.

There is no social integration that might turn that feast into a sort of catarsis that could reduce the social conflict.
The social gap reproduced in the carnival structure only comes to reinforce the deep-rooted prejudice and the veiled apartheid that characterize Brazilian society.

The laugh is only stamped on the mask. Behind the mask the eyes keep on weeping.

 

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