The De-Africanization of Street Carnival in Rio de Janeiro through municipal law

• In Event: Flows of Freedom: post-abolition, black women, Afro-Brazilian history and culture

Description for Program

Street Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, one of the major expressions of Brazilian national identity impacted by the cultural influences of the African diaspora, has been captured by neoliberalism. With the utmost aid of municipal public administration, executive orders have been used as a legal tool to discipline and to profit from this remarkable form of Brazilian popular festivity. The direct consequences of this commodification of cultural manifestations constitute a racist process ongoing in Brazil that aims to “de-Africanize” popular cultures, such as Street Carnivals and their music, and to transform them into mega-events that are set up to bring profit to private companies. Nonetheless, despite all attempts of framing and taming the festivities, Rio de Janeiro’s Street Carnival still makes possible an active practice of decolonization.

Author

• Thiago Mattos-Batista