Think of Brazilian festivals and the images that spring to mind are of fantastic street parades featuring dancers in fantastic costumes gyrating to samba rhythms. This is of course the annual Carnival. Carnival starts on a Saturday and officially runs for four days, ending on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). The actual date depends on Easter and so varies between February and March.



Carnival

Carnival celebrations occur in every city in Brazil but the real extravaganza happens in Rio. Here it's the samba schools that put on the big show. Each samba school chooses its theme for the parade and prepares the elaborate floats and flamboyant costumes that define Carnival.

Carnival has its origins in long-ago pagan celebration held in Greece or Rome. The grand balls that evolved from these rituals arrived in Brazil from Italy at the end of the 19th century. Decades later, they achieved legendary status for their splendour and the celebrities who attended them at the Copacabana Palace Hotel. The actual Samba Parade that is the heart of Carnival dates from the 1930s.

Sao Paulo Art Festival

Another major event on the Brazilian calendar is the Sao Paulo art festival held biannually in October on even years. The S'o Paulo Bienal as it's known locally, features both Brazilian and international art. It's the biggest arts event in Latin America and showcases art, theater, music, and architecture.

Taking the Venice Biennial as its model, the S'o Paulo Art Biennial was founded in 1951 by the Italian-Brazilian industrialist Ciccillo Matarazzo. The original aim of the festival was to make international modern art better known in Brazil, to promote the works of Brazilian artists to the world, and to plant Sao Paulo firmly on the international art scene. In addition to the art biennial, an International Biennial for Architecture and Design has been held since 1973.

Sao Joao

Our last festival is a sacred one celebrated nationwide - Festa Junina (S'o Jo'o or Saint John Festival) which is the Catholic replacement for a pagan midsummer festival. The tradition was brought to Brazil by Portuguese colonists. As Brazil is in the southern hemisphere, it becomes a midwinter festival here and is celebrated in June. It starts one week before St John's Day and ends one week after and is celebrated with traditional foods, games and dances. It's mainly celebrated on the days following the Catholic feast of Saint Anthony, John the Baptist and Saint Peter.

While celebrated all over Brazil, Sao Joao is especially popular in the rural northeast. Here it marks the beginning of the rainy season. And as S'o Jo'o coincides with the corn harvest, corn-based foods are a popular facet of the celebration. These include canjica and pamonha. Fireworks and bonfires are key components of the festivities.

Brazil is always an exciting country to visit. But if you can make your visit during one of the country's many festivals, you can experience a new dimension in Brazilian hospitality and enter the heart of life in this amazing country. The only difficulty with visiting the events in Brazil might be your accommodation. Be sure to have a reservation, because Rio de Janeiro hotels or Sao Paolo hotels could be fully booked during the festivals. Of course the Internet offers many opportunities to book Brazil hotels in advance.