Considered the best Carnival in the interior of the State of Rio de Janeiro, during the revelry period, the municipality of São João da Barra attracts a large audience with its quality of shows and with a rich program that starts with the election of the King Momo, the Queen and the Carnival Muse.
After the official handover of the municipality key by the Executive Power to the imposing King Momo, the carnival panels are accessed on Avenida Joaquim Thomás de Aquino Filho, which becomes affectionately known as the “Samba Avenue”, in the presence of thousands of revelers.
This embellished avenue is where the luxury, glamour, and audacity of the parades by centuries-old carnival groups such as the Congos and O Chinês take place. There is also the parade of the newcomer Carnival Group Vila Imperial, in addition to the traditional Bloco Os Indianos.
These clubs are the main responsible for the choreographic beauty of the Sanjoanense Carnival, due to the richness of their luxurious costumes, creative samba-enredos, innovative materials in their grandiose floats, their samba dancers, percussionists, queens of the drums, flag bearers, the beauties that compose them, and the excitement of their fans, some of whom are taken to the brink of excitement and passion. There is no official judging of the samba schools. The result is up to the people's comments and this generates excitement throughout the year! That's how the Sanjoanense Carnival is!
And it doesn't stop there!
There are the morning parties with local and regional bands in the headquarters and districts. In the headquarters, there are masked and dominos contests in the style of Venice carnivals (Prêmio Dr. Ailton Damas) and there are also passage of electric trios with their customized abadás blocos such as Jiripoca - the oldest, Diga que Valeu, Abalou, Tô ki Tô, Kebretes and Tilangos, Mello Folia, Amigos da Bonita, Amigos da Elba, Mulekada, Pé D' Moleke, Jovem Folia, Tricolor, Kamalyão, Vasco da Gama, rubro-negro, Flamengo, Botafogo, and many others.
The intrepid Bandas Maluca and Zé Pereira also parade through the city streets and the official stages are animated by Bandinhas Pica Pau, Sambeleza, Amézio Venâncio, São João, Amigos da Folia, Suave Veneno and 2001.
A special highlight is the passage of the masked block "Você e Conhece", which departs from Praça São Pedro and parades through the city streets to the Avenida do Samba, where each reveler wears any costume they want. Occasionally, the hilarious carnival critics that report on social daily life in a very humorous way also appear in the samba avenue, mingling with the masked block.
In the districts, the joy of revelry is also contagious. In Açu, the presentation of the Bloco das Piranhas gathers crowds on its main avenue. On Avenida Liberdade in Grussaí, the Bloco Boneca do Valdir has around 50,000 revelers and there goes the electric trio leading the crowd. On the other side of the lagoon, also in Grussaí, the Bloco do Boneco Batoré entertains the resident beachgoers and tourists. On Ash Wednesday, the Bloco Boi Ressaca manages to take to the streets those who worked during the carnival period and couldn't enjoy the revelry.
Speaking of Boi Ressaca, the municipality of São João da Barra also rescues another centuries-old tradition, the painted oxen! In Barcelos, the Boi Arrastão and Boi Tufão blocks set the tone for an outback carnival party, with lots of color in their costumes and in their masters' performances. In Chapéu de Sol, the Bloco Boi Já Fui delights residents and visitors.
In Atafona, the traditional Bloco Borracha frac displays its stylized doll in the famous "Cuíca" roundabout, making the place a meeting point for much revelry.
And every year, the decoration of the famous and popular Avenida Joaquim Thomás de Aquino Filho, the Avenida do Samba, receives a specific theme for the decoration, a tradition that has been maintained for many years.
Ending the days of revelry, seeking to hold a "burying of the bones", the Trios and Abadás Encounter takes place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after Ash Wednesday.
The Sanjoanense Carnival is undoubtedly the biggest and most frequented popular festival!!!
GRÊMIO RECREATIVO ESCOLA DE SAMBA ACADÊMICOS DA VILA IMPERIAL
Founded on April 26, 2018, the school originated in the Sanjoanense Club hall, from members of Unidos da Chatuba samba school. One of the intentions was to fill the gap on the Monday of Carnival, which arose after Unidos da Chatuba stopped parading.
Eduardo Pereira, current president of the school, Ricardo Pedro (vice president), and some percussionists are the founders of the Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Acadêmicos da Vila Imperial.
The school's motto is similar to the Salgueiro samba school's "Not better, not worse, just a different school". According to Eduardo, the school's strong point is its percussion section, "because its percussionists rehearse all year round, and thus achieve a top-quality sound".
The school, a newcomer among traditional samba schools, holds various events to raise funds and also counts on collaboration, through the "golden book", from local traders and individuals. It is currently recognized as a municipal public utility.
BLOCO INDIANOS
The "Os Indianos" block is known as a carnival group that has never strayed from its origins. Since its founding, it has been presenting dynamic growth. In 1930, the undertaker Luiz Malvino and Geraldo "Toquinho" created the "Os Indianos" block, as a salon block, which paraded from their own residence and coffin factory on Rua do Rosário and played in the salons of São João da Barra and Campos dos Goytacazes. It had as its assistant Mr. Pedrinho Balbular.
Over the years, leaving the salons, they went out to the streets and, gaining the affection of revelers, painted everyone black, with straw hats on their heads, waist, legs, and all over. The song sung and played by the revelers was the march known as "Chefe Indiano não chora..."
The first allegorical float placed by the "indians" was a decorated donkey cart, featuring a net crossed with a lying indian woman. This block lasted until around 1958.
In the 1970s, the carnival enthusiasts Geraldo Costa Moreira, Toninho Gaiato, Osmar Zaguine, Getúlio Alvarenga, Benedito Sampaio, Quinzote, and many others reorganized the Indianos, but it was Luiz Malvino, its founder and author of the block's song with an unknown lyric, who was most engaging.
There were also survivors of Geraldo who were: Osmar Moço, Nildo Penha, Marilton Pinheiro, Jorge Novas, and João Emanuel.
By the late 90s, the group stopped parading for several consecutive years at the avenue.
But in the late 90s, to continue the work of Bloco Os Indianos, the current president, Quinzinho Moreira, with the collaboration of Orlando Gomes and others, put the block back to parade on the avenue. The Os Indianos' costumes are full of headdresses with colorful feathers, skirts, bows, arrows, and spears. Its components, mostly men, dance tribal dances on the avenue and perform warrior simulations with loud cries and gestures.
CONGOS
The history of the Congos (current Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Congos) begins in 1932 when bakers, friends, and acquaintances gathered at Padaria Luz, owned by Mr. Eduardo Marcelino, to discuss a carnival joke. Led by José Gomes Teixeira (Tuiú), the idea arose to choose a name for a block called "Don't Leave Me Alone".
Very excited about the idea of the joke that was gaining followers, the next day they went to other bakeries and invited some other bakers to participate. On carnival Sunday, they gathered, painted their bodies black, their lips red, and their eyes white. They put rings in their noses and ears. They wore straw hats on their arms and legs.
With that preparation, they went out dancing and singing to an animated march through the streets, and in every house they stopped at, they painted those interested. This happened with Mr. Antônio Fernandes Gomes, and later with the brothers Arlindo and Nhôzinho Fernandes, who joined the group and headed towards Rua São João. Zé Teixeira, Benedito Brutelo, Nonô Jailer, and Zezinho Cardoso, younger boys, followed the excitement closely.
When they passed by Dona Quinhinha's house, Tuiú's mother, who was laughing, exclaimed:
- You guys look like Congos!
Everyone liked the suggestion and said:
- That's right, Dona Quinhinha! It's chosen. The block name will be CONGOS!
Tuiú was accompanied in creating the CONGOS Bloco by various close friends, such as Manuel de Souza Pinto (Perna), João Baptista Valiengo, Manoel Januário de Assis, Dimas Manoel Peixoto, Manoel Barreto (author of the march-rancho "Gargalhada"), Manoel Alves de Azevedo (Minzinho), Roger de Souza Malhardes, Lauro Nunes (Pombo), Joaquim Barboza, Domingos Bacalhau (the first flag carrier), Ataliba Mello, Nié, Salvador, Geraldo Paes (the first baliza), Celso Pirralho, Zé Lalaia, João Caboclo, Zacarias Gregório, and many more.
As the Congos Clube, the first president was Mr. Dimas Manoel Peixoto, known as Peixotinho. The club's income came from its own members going on the block and from what was raised in the "Golden Book". Other incomes came from the pockets of its directors, from which the money came for the costumes and the floats, always parading to the rhythm of the marcha-rancho.
Since 1978, the Congos have adhered to samba and parade with their indisputable splendor, now considered Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Congos.
CHINÊS
In 1933, the creation of the Bloco O Chinês took place. Its foundation was the work of Mr. Joaquim dos Santos Ramos (Quincas de Biza), who was assisted by friends such as João Camilo, Coriolano Henriques da Silva, Manoel Vital, Antonio Marques dos Santos, Agapito Ferreira Maia, and others.
When parading the streets of the city, its first costume alludes to the way ancient and humble Chinese peasants from the villages dressed. At the time, simple long coats, long dark green pants, and cone-shaped or open hood hats were adorned with umbrellas and fans, making up a very stylized costume.
At that time, there weren't many bright colors because materials were scarce. It was not considered a "Dirty Block", as it seemed like a more refined block due to the quality of their costumes.
They were accompanied by the marcha-rancho music of the time, which later would lead to the development of their own musical compositions.
In the early years of existence, women were not allowed to participate, and men played the roles that would later be performed by women, such as the flag bearer. Women started participating in the parades around 1964-1965, which is also when the block costume changed. From then on, they began parading in less traditional costumes, leaving behind the old Chinese caricature.
Years later, the musical style would also undergo innovation, replacing the marcha-rancho with samba-enredo.
In 1976, the Sanjoanense composer Eleacyr Cajueiro presented the first samba of the city's carnival groups. Entitled "Jogue uma rosa!", the samba was responsible for changing traditions, old paradigms, and introducing other artistic innovations.
The former block is now known as the Cultural, Social, and Carnival Club O Chinês and during the carnival, it is called Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Chinês.
Carnival School Curiosities
As main references of the São João da Barra carnival, the grêmios recreativos samba schools Chinês and Congos have been listed as Historical and Cultural Heritage of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The bills, approved in the plenary session of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj) - were published in the Official Gazette, respectively as state laws number 8,327 and 8,340, on March 29, 2019.
Obs. Dados coletados no site do Ministério de Turismo, pelo Cadastur. Estes dados estão disponíveis para o público em geral, de acordo com as normas da Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais.
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