Carnival

Brazilian Carnival is the country’s most internationally recognized festival, combining European, African, and Indigenous cultural influences. Its distant roots can be traced to pre-Lenten celebrations in Europe, particularly the Portuguese entrudo, a festive custom introduced during the colonial period in which people played public games involving water, flour, and scented substances. In Brazil, these traditions evolved through the creativity of African and Afro-Brazilian communities, whose music, dance, religious symbolism, and communal forms of celebration profoundly shaped the festival.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, organized carnival societies, masquerade balls, street groups, and musical ensembles developed in major cities. Rio de Janeiro’s samba schools emerged in the early twentieth century, transforming Carnival into a highly coordinated artistic competition featuring elaborate costumes, allegorical floats, percussion sections, choreography, and an original samba-enredo. In 2026, Carnival’s principal public celebrations will center on Carnival Tuesday, February 17, with festivities beginning well before that date and Ash Wednesday falling on February 18. Although Rio’s Sambadrome parades are globally famous, Brazil’s Carnival is a nationwide cultural phenomenon with distinct traditions in Bahia, Pernambuco, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and many other regions.

Celebrations typically include street blocos, samba-school parades, concerts, masquerade events, and neighborhood parties. In Rio de Janeiro, samba schools parade through the Sambadrome in carefully prepared performances judged on music, theme, harmony, costumes, floats, and overall presentation. São Paulo also stages major samba-school competitions, while Salvador is known for enormous electric sound trucks called trios elétricos, axé music, and participation in cordões and blocos. Recife and Olinda are celebrated for frevo dancing, brass bands, colorful umbrellas, and giant puppets, giving Pernambuco Carnival a distinctive identity.

Revelers commonly wear imaginative costumes, face paint, masks, glitter, and brightly colored clothing, while dancing to samba, axé, frevo, marchinhas, and other Brazilian rhythms. Popular refreshments vary by region but may include grilled meats, acarajé, coxinhas, pão de queijo, pastel, feijoada, fresh fruit, and cold nonalcoholic or alcoholic drinks; responsible drinking, hydration, and sun protection are important during long outdoor events. Common greetings include “Feliz Carnaval!” and “Bom Carnaval!” meaning “Happy Carnival!” or “Have a good Carnival!” The festival is also associated with collective joy, cultural pride, neighborhood participation, and a temporary reversal of everyday social conventions before the beginning of Lent.