no beach, no samba, no bikini

everybody knows carnival. to many people this fest even captures the essence of brazil: sweating bodies, dressed in flimsy but colourful costumes, dancing to the irresistible beat of the samba, the beach never far away, plenty of beer and caipirinha flowing to heigthen the spirits (and lower the already rather low social and sexual barriers).





but how many people know this other big celebration, the festa junina? (read the wikipedia article for some background)
in many ways it forms the opposite of carnival. it is mainly, but not exclusively, a party for children. it is celebrated throughout the months of june and july (hey, why only have 1 month of parties if you can also celebrate 2 months?) the party originates from the interior of the north-east of brazil. this part of brazil is like carnaval: hardly any foreigner knows anything about it.
well, all countries have a province, a state or a region that they like to make fun of. in brazil it is the north-east. a dry, backward region, full of hicks and goats.
and during the festa junina the whole of the country dresses up like the north easterners (well, of course an exaggerated version of it), wearing straw hats, checkered shirts and funny old fashioned little dresses. they play brasilian country music (oh yes, it exists and is just as awful as the north american relative of it) and eat typical north eastern sweets and food.
during a party the grounds of the party are just like a fazenda in the north east. on these giant farms the boss had the right to marry people - and to put them in prison. so sure enough, a festa junina is not complete without a prison and a priest, wedding people for the duration of the party.
no beach, no samba, no bikini's.

for me, it just shows how huge and varied this country is.
i just finished reading braziliaanse brieven, (thank you, tom!) a great account of life in brazil through the eyes of a european. on returning from one of his trips to brazil the author is asked by a friend if he likes brazil. he is briefly puzzled by the question. the country is too complex to like or dislike. there are too many aspects to a country as vast and diverse as brazil. he replies: "do you think europe is a nice continent?"