Carnaval: Putting Mardi Gras To Shame

So my treat to myself the other day was a little expedition onto Facebook, a very rare treat unless you want to overpay for the slowest internet known to man. I didn’t spend much time on it, but I did see that people were posting pictures from Mardi Gras. Now, I didn’t get to Brazil until the last day of Carnaval, a five day celebration before Lent, but apparently that is the craziest day anyways. Imagine Mardi Gras, except with MILLIONS of additional people. Just to give you an idea, in Salvador alone the population is 2 million. The amount on the streets? 3 Million. And that’s not even considering Rio! When we got off the ship, we were greeted by drummers, women handing out religious ribbon bracelets (make a wish for every knot), hundreds of people from other cruiselines dancing shirtless and bedazzled in strings of beads, and several people chattering in Portugese- which is NOTHING like Spanish. My first thought- goodbye America. WHAT THE HELL did I sign up for? It’s 100 degrees and I’m wearing a KNIT CAP. Yes… A KNIT CAP. (Blonde hair only begs for unnecessary attention). The street is lined with hoards of people holding out jewelry, tee shirts, hell, even coconuts looking at you like you are from another planet. That first day, not knowing where you are or what the hell your doing walking the streets with a handful of girls is pretty intimidating. We headed into Old Pelerino, a square about 10 minutes away from the port. It breaks off into several squares and main streets. You have to take an elevator up which meets the beginning of several squares and side streets. There were stages set, music playing, and people setting up and dancing. We had lunch on a side street, and went back pretty early to get ready for the big night. Now, if you have ever seen City Of God (which you absolutely need to), you know Brazil has HORRIBLE crime rates. By this time, people on the ship had already seen someone whip out a machete on a man for stealing right next to the port. GREAT. By this point, I’m mentally preparing for myself to lose a finger. I headed up to Pelerino with a bunch of people dressed in bandanas and tutus. I myself have marker drawn hearts around my eye- because of course, anything goes. Basically the streets have huge floats, blasting music that you follow and dance to down the streets. Depending on the group on the float, you have to buy to be in the line. Shirts cost around 100 up to walk with them, and hundreds upon hundreds will buy one and dance in large mobs. In the beginning, there’s a stage for little kids to dance on, with families and vendors surrounding it. I mean, there are babies and little kids dressed head to toe in “Mardi Gras” type outfits out until the middle of the night, just sleeping in the middle of this. There are several dance acts, capoiera (type of street fighting the slaves learned to do without their hands), and a very scary Brazilian Michael Jackson impression that was the most fun I never want to have again. Of course, this is their job, so if you even stop to look they hound you for money, screaming at you in this completely foreign language. Now, granted this was an amazing party. It should be as it’s known as the biggest party in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. But of course, can’t forget my absolute favorite part of it all. Now let me just give a brief prologue to this lovely segment. These people are dirt poor. Brazil has a very rich economy, it does. But 7% of the wealth is shared by 70% of the population. Their government is corrupt and has little concern over the welfare of the poor. So what you get is some of the worst, unfathomable poverty you can imagine. Add to that no belief in condoms and these poor families have too many kids they can handle. They get kicked out on the streets and you have kids carrying around a piece of glass, telling you he has HIV. True story. The kids are who I was afraid of. My friends had a bunch of 6 foot guys with them who put up a fight. BAD CALL. This group of 12 year olds got him down and dragged him away by his neck, taking everything from him. Several other various students got mugged, held at knifepoint, and had to have stitches. They will cut/rip/tear anything off with no regard what rips with it (like your fingers, anyone?). Luckily, all I got was a very malnourished kid come up to us, shoeless and obviously desperate, begging for a real (currency- 56 cents) and another who started touching my arms and hair. Kids. Little kids. You know? Our in port lecturer was telling us about a little boy who had brought a lap top to a rice and beans stand (1 or 2 real) and asked for a meal in exchange. A Dell thousand dollar laptop. For rice and beans, one measly meal. Another group were sitting at a bar with the obviously more wealthy being seated, and taken care of. Those who could not afford anything sat around the perimeter, waiting like predators for anything they could get their hands on. One had flicked a used cigarette that someone immediately swooped down and finished. Clearly a finished cigarette, that most people just dispose of without a thought before starting another. That woman also finished the froth at the end of their beers, just for a sip. I mean, take it as you will. It’s the reality there. It is without a fact that Carnaval is exponentially larger than any other thing you could imagine- even putting Mardi Gras to shame- with millions lining the streets, dressing in drag and other various outfits, dancing until the very morning 5 days straight. You could still hear music coming into port at 5 am upon our initial arrival. However at what price?