How to Be a Carioca

Lesson 11 Carnival à Carioca

Summer is Carnival time, the Carioca’s (and the world’s!) biggest, wildest, best-known party, and all of Rio swings to the rhythm of the samba. Although Carnival is officially in February, it’s around New Year’s Day when the Cariocas develop the sudden urge to dance the samba.

By beating on whatever is available — tables, pans, matchboxes, beer bottles, glasses, themselves — the Carioca creates a continuous, hypnotic rhythm known as the batucada [bah chew ’kah dah]. You will see and hear batucadas being spontaneously created on buses, at street corners, on the beach, but most often in the botecos where there is a constant flow of cervas or chopps to keep the batucada and samba alive.

To enjoy the madness of Carnival to its fullest, it is essential that you learn how to dance the samba.

How to dance the samba: The real Carioca has the samba bug under his skin and knows instinctively how to sambar [some ’bah] (dance the samba). If when hearing samba music or a batucada you feel your legs wanting to dance, but you don’t know how, don’t despair. It is very simple to learn how to dance the samba. It’s just a matter of shaking your body and moving your feet in the following fashion.

Count one, two, three, four to the beat. While lifting your right arm, take a Step forward with your right foot over your left foot. Now take a Step over to the left with your left foot, bringing your left arm up and around as your right foot takes a back Step followed by the respective motion with the right arm. Are you still in the rhythm? Good. Complete the cycle by bringing your left foot back over the right foot, taking a Step forward to the right, thus beginning a new cycle to the beat.

It’s simple. Just keep those hips moving!

Now that you have the basic samba down, you might want to try the real samba. Just follow the footsteps below, and you’ll be sambando [some ’bun doo] (doing the samba) like a true Carioca in no time.

The samba is a very energetic dance with a rhythm that induces the dancer to shout specific samba words of joy. While dancing, the following should be shouted frequently in order to enhance the feeling of the samba:

ô skindô skindo [oh skeen ’doh skeen ’doh]

ziriguidum ziriguidum [zee ree gee ’doon zee ree gee ’doon]

Obs.: These words have absolutely NO meaning, but they do create a great beat.

What to wear: Anything, or close to nothing, is appropriate to wear when doing the samba. But if you’re a closet queen who has always dreamed of venturing out in public wearing lace and high heels, now is your chance. All your fantasies are acceptable and encouraged. The Carioca woman seems to have a preference for baby dolls and garter belts. Don’t ask why. So boys and girls, just dig into that lingerie drawer, and you will fit right in.

Where to do the samba: An where there is a batucada is a fine place to dance the samba.

The holiday: Cariocas love Carnival, primarily since it is a potential ten- day vacation. The holiday itself is officially on Carnival Tuesday and Ash Wednesday until noon, when the work schedules are supposed to resume. But forget that! Since the Carioca will begin his Carnival festivities a month before Carnival, when the actual event comes around he is so «partied out» he will often take advantage of the holiday to leave town. This pilgrimage will begin on the Thursday night preceding Carnival in order to avoid the Friday traffic. No one is really expected to show up at the office on Ash Wednesday at noon, and on the Thursday and Friday after Carnival nothing really happens. Therefore, the Carioca will return to town on the following Monday at noon in order to avoid the Sunday night traffic.

Those diehards who have a passion for the samba school parades and participate by joining a school or two every year will return to Rio specifically for that event, then quickly go back to their vacation spots after their night of glory is over. This leaves Rio free game for the Carnival-loving Cariocas, the tourists, and those of dubious sexual preference.

Ziriguiduin!