Why Carnival Means Everything to Brazil

Added: 2026-04-29

[00:01:54]What is up everybody? For this video, we are on the greatest city on earth photographing the greatest party on earth. It's going to be a massive adventure, and I hope you guys enjoy it.

[00:02:10]I've always been curious, being half Brazilian, but growing up internationally, I've always wondered, why does Carnival matter so much to the Brazilian people? So I set out on a tropical quest with cameras filmed to find out why.

[00:02:28]>> So we are officially here in the hostel.

[00:02:31]The adventure begins.

[00:02:34]>> Quick interval. Let's talk equipment real quick. I brought my Canon AE1 with a 50 and 24 mm lens as well as my Fuji X100V.

[00:02:45]At this point in the trip, we are still in pre-C carnival season. And so what I wanted to do was visit a few SAS schools across the city, see how they're preparing, and start to understand what this is all really about.

[00:03:49]So the multiple So bad with the academy.

[00:04:18]It was If If I go back up Give up my Okay, my brothers and sisters, warm-up is over. For Peak Carnival, we're going to be focusing on different neighborhoods as well as different bloss inside those neighborhoods so that we can get a comprehensive view of what carnival looks like in Hu Janeiro. Now, what are bloss? Blockus are streetwide parties that are happening all over Brazil in major cities like Hu Janeiro, like S. Palo and Salvador and many others. What's important to take under consideration is that at any given time more than 50 bloas are happening in the city simultaneously. So quite literally the whole city is having one huge party and all these different bloas they differ in respect to the type of music they play to the themes they exhibit to the type of people they attract. Another interesting fact is that these bloas are thrown and organized by samba schools, by musical bands, neighborhood communities, and sometimes even the city itself. So, it's a pretty big deal here in Brazil in Hu Janeu. Other than that, let's go see what type of trouble we can get ourselves into. Let's go.

[00:06:20]We are here in Santa Teresa. It's really hot. We'll see what type of work we can get.

[00:06:37]Power shore.

[00:07:17]Brazil Brazil.

[00:07:30]That's a My skin won't see Oh no.

[00:08:31]Praise.

[00:08:49]Thank for Fore!

[00:10:14]Foreign! Foreign!

[00:10:33]I am looking for it.

[00:10:46]foreign.

[00:11:31]All right, we are going to Flamingo right now to photograph Amigosa. So, yet another day, another opportunity.

[00:11:43]Let's go.

[00:11:54]Heat.

[00:12:08]Heat.

[00:12:16]Heat. Heat. N.

[00:12:49]It's crazy. We're completely wet. My shoes are completely destroyed. And I hope some of the images turned out. I'm not sure. My camera is all wet.

[00:13:04]>> There you go. Now we're going to make our way to Bota Fog because the party never stops.

[00:13:37]Hey, hey, hey.

[00:14:03]change.

[00:14:12]It's a Brazil. It's a Heat.

[00:15:30]K.

[00:16:06]All right. After all that, the streets, the music, the chaos, it all came down to one last round, the grand finale.

[00:16:40]P little Sh.

[00:17:11]Hey. Hey.

[00:17:14]Heat. Heat.

[00:17:33]Heat. Heat. N.

[00:17:47]I'm going to start around 9 p.m. It is now 6 a.m.

[00:18:23]And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the aftermath. After spectacle comes the cleanup. And it's pretty interesting to see what holds all this together. What holds the city together. It's a city made of contrasts.

[00:19:50]All right, after all that craziness, I feel like I can officially say that I have survived Carnival in Hu Janeiro. It has been a wild ride. Nevertheless, I originally wanted to make this video as a cultural exploration as to why is Kavao so important for the Brazilian people. And after all those interviews and all those photographs and everything I've learned along the way, I wanted to try my best at answering that question myself. So here goes. Carnavao originally started as a Portuguese Catholic tradition. However, throughout time and throughout centuries, it has been massively altered by African and Afrobrazilian influences. For centuries, Brazil has been a slave society. It has suffered a lot of inequality politically, economically, and socially, and it still does. But during carnival, Brazil is unified in celebrating its identity and culture. Suddenly, the streets belong to the people. Diversity is celebrated. The poor occupy the city in a way that is beautiful, unapologetic, and free from social critique. It's a time of love. It's a time of social reconnection, and that is super important on a country that has been built on social inequality. The Brazilian people are very creative.

[00:21:18]They're very passionate people. So when carnival comes, that gives them the opportunity to let go of everything that's pulling them down and celebrate themselves, to celebrate their identity, to celebrate the very thing that makes Brazil so beautiful and so unique.

[00:21:33]Anyway, I hope that I answered that question. Well, that is the end of this adventure. Like I always say, there is still so much more to see, so many people to meet, and so many photographs to take. But until then, I will see you on the next video.