Back in 2016, the award-winning New York Times reporter Andrew Jacobs wrote a piece about Carnival in Brazil. His depiction of “sweaty, minimally clothed” people rubbing against one another while the country was in the throes of a Zika virus outbreak and a presidential impeachment suggested that Brazil is a nation made of people unaware of their country’s problems. He goes as far as to say:
“The sight of so many people gallivanting about in various stages of undress and seemingly oblivious to the potential dangers of Zika can be striking.”
However, despite what Mr. Jacobs may think, Carnival is far from being a moment of oblivion and promiscuity. Of course, those things exist. But Carnival in Brazil is – and has always been – political. Historian Luiz Antonio Simas even calls it “Brazil’s most political party, by far.” Simas literally wrote the book on Carnival’s social role in the country.
During Brazil’s first republic, Carnival was a gateway for Black Brazilians to celebrate their independence and recently-gained freedom from slavery. Today is the moment where sarcasm, humor, and political transgression all come together.
These political overtones were clear in 2017, when many traditional sing-alongs were banned from street celebrations for their links to...
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