Parintins Folklore Festival
Encyclopedia
Parintins
Parintins is a city in the far east of the Amazonas state, Brazil. It is located in the municipality of the same name, which is part of a microregion also named Parintins. The population for the entire municipality was 109,150 and its area is 5,952 km². The city is located on Tupinambarana island...
, Amazonas. It is the second-largest annual festival in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
; only the Carnival
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
festivities in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
draw more participants.
Often called Festival do Boi-Bumbá, Bumba Meu Boi
Bumba Meu Boi
Bumba Meu Boi is a Brazilian folk theatrical tradition - the tale told through the music, the costumes and drumming involves a Bull, which dies and is brought back to life...
, or simply Festival, the event takes place during three days in late June. The festival celebrates a local legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
about a resurrected ox. It is also a competition where two teams, Garantido and Caprichoso, compete in extended retellings of the story, each team attempting to outdo the other with flamboyant dances, singing, and parade floats
Float (parade)
A float is a decorated platform, either built on a vehicle or towed behind one, which is a component of many festive parades, such as those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnival of Viareggio, the Maltese Carnival, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Key West Fantasy Fest parade, the...
. Each team has to complete its show within two and a half hours. A team that does not follow this time limit is subjected to points penalties. Each nightly performance is largely based on local Amazonian folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
culture, but also incorporates contemporary Brazilian rhythms and themes.
The place where the teams present themselves is called "Bumbódromo", a round, grounded stage. The "Bumbódromo" supports 35.000 people in the audience.
Despite the importance of the celebration to the Amazonas region of Brazil, this festival was not widely known in other parts of the country until the musical group Carrapicho
Carrapicho
Carrapicho is a Brazilian music group. Its lead singer is Zezinho Corrêa.Carrapicho is most known for its single "Tic, Tic Tac" which reached the top 100 best-sellers charts in several European countries, South America and Israel. A cover of the song has also been made in Russian by the Kazakh...
released the hit Bate forte o tambor in 1996.
It is common for local people to tell the visitors that Parintins is the only place in the World where Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
ads are blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
. While it is true that within the Bumbódromo there are Coca-Cola ads in both red and blue, there are other instances of Coca-Cola ads reflecting the colors of sporting teams, including at the stadiums of Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
teams in England. During the 2011 Festival do Boi-Bumbá, Coca-Cola was available throughout Amazonas region in special edition cans that were half red, half blue.