The Carnival in Salvador Brazil – biggest
party in Brazil!

The Carnival in Salvador Brazil is reputedly the biggest annual street carnival anywhere in the world, attended by about 2 million party-goers, close to a half of which may be tourists.

If you like parties, throngs of happy people, drink and music and lots and lots of dancing, the carnival in Salvador Brazil will be your thing! In 2008 the carnival starts on Thursday the 31st of January, when the mayor of Salvador gives the key to the city to the “Rei Momo” or carnival king. The party then continues right through till Tuesday, February 5th – officially that is. Lots of unofficial splinter parties then continue on for a few days afterwards, so you can quite easily party for your whole holiday week or more - the carnival in salvador brazil travel bug is quite infectious!

The carnaval Salvador (as spelt in Portugese, although you will see all kinds of variants like carnavale, carneval, carnevale and such like) is very much a participative event – don’t expect to be shown around in a tame fashion with some Carnival Guide! To really experience the Carnival in Salvador Brazil, you should expect to get right in there and parade and dance the Samba right along with the natives. Sure, you can sit and watch from the sidelines when you need a break, but don’t get too comfy! Get into the action and you’ll have the party of your life!
There are two main parts to the carnival in Salvador Brazil – the parades and the barracas. The main parades are mostly made up of “trio eletricos”, decorated trailers with performing bands (with powerful sound systems) on top. All around each “trio” are the party goers that are accompanying that particular “trio”. You pay to join this party and are given a costume – usually a themed t-shirt and shorts combination.

All around the parade are general milling crowds that are refered to as “pipoca”, or popcorn, because they are jumping up and down and dancing like mad!
The barracas are stationary equivalents of the “trio eletricos”, with bands and plenty of beer, thousands of them all over the place, turning the whole city into one big party. You’ll find lots of local foodstuffs on offer to give you the energy to keep dancing. Carne de vaca (cow meat) is very popular.
The Carnival start dates for the next few years are:

• 2008 – January 31st
• 2009 – February 19th
• 2010 – February 11th
• 2011 – March 3rd
• 2012 – February 16th

Finally, just a few words about safety at the carnival in Salvador Brazil. The carnival is heavily policed, which has cut down on a lot of the violence that occasionally broke out in earlier years. However, pickpockets abound so take as little in the way as valuables with you as possible. Don’t carry money in an outside pocket! If possible, stash your money and keys in a safely stitched inside pocket, or attach your purse securely to the inside of your clothes with a strong safety pin.

Another thing that you may find alarming at first, if you are female, is the Carnival habit of strange men stroking your hair! Very odd and disconcerting if you are not expecting it, but for the most part is it harmless (if annoying) behavior and if possible just ignore it and move on.

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