Saturday, November 2, 2019, Parintins, Brazil

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PARINTINS, BRAZIL

The town of Parintins sits on Tupinambarana, a group of four adjacent islands surrounded by a convergence of four rivers.  Their endless surging current divided the once singular island into four, making Paritins a fascinating illustration of the Amazon’s power.  The sleepy town centers around its Square of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, home to the eponymous church and a thriving market.  But it is perhaps best known for its folk theatrical tradition known as Boi Bumbá.  This extravagant performance, part of an annual folklore festival held each June, is Brazil’s largest celebration after Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.  Combining costumes, drumming and Amazonian, African, and European rhythms, it tells the story of a resurrected bull.




We walked through the white boat to get to the dock from our tender.

Ours was the first cruise ship of the tourist season; we had a greeter waiting on our arrival.

Boi Bumbá Folkloric Performance 

We experienced the heart-pounding music, Carnaval-style costumes, and kaleidoscopic choreography of Boi Bumbá.  This folk celebration comes only once a year, but is being celebrated today for us.  We walked from the pier to the Parintins Convention Center, where the Boi Bumbá Festival singers and dancers recreated Parintins’ annual Boi Bumbá, or “Bull Festival.”  This annual event is Brazil’s second-largest celebration, and it recounts a folk tale about the rivalry between two bulls whose teams (one red and one blue) strive to outperform one another.  The tension mounts until the appearance of a shaman results in a joyous celebration of the bull’s life.  As with Carnaval, the festival features ornate floats built by competing teams.  We were exhilarated by the show and then toast the Boi Bumbá spirit with a delicious caipirinha cocktail made of cachaça (fermented sugarcane juice), sugar, and lime.  Since the caipirinha cocktail is locally made, the did not seem to be an alcohol limit.  Wow, did it have a kick!


 We arrived an hour before the performance was to start at 11 AM; we were greeted by warm-up performers.


 The MC circulated among the crowd before start.

 Larry sat in the elevated back row for picture taking.

 The show had begun.


 Most of the actual performance was on the floor level.  The musicians were on stage.


 The costumes were lavish and beautiful.

  




  

  
  
  
  

 The performance was over.  Looked at a few outdoor vendor items.



On our way to Manaus; it will take 30 hours to get to our last stop, which will be as far upriver as we go, 1,000 miles from the mouth of the river at the Atlantic Ocean.

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