The Corso and Carioca Revelry
This slide shows images of the carnival corso (vehicle procession) in the mid-1920s on Rio Branco Avenue.
Carnival car paradeGeneral Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
The dominance of Rio Branco Avenue as a carnival space
Increasingly present in urban centers, motor vehicles began to be used in carnival festivities in 1907, in the then recently inaugurated Central Avenue, the first name for Rio Branco Avenue. In this film, revelers parade down the road in an open car.
Charge de 1889 (1889)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Zé Pereira parade, cartoon, 1889
Before the modernization of the corso: the procession of the Portuguese citizen José Nogueira de Azevedo Paredes, with aristocrats, in the streets during Carnival Monday. The revelry that took place between 1846 and 1852 was considered inappropriate for the splendid Central Avenue in its time.
Ouvidor Street Carnival
The corso then took over the city, abandoning the old carnival celebrations on Ouvidor Street. After the inauguration of Central Avenue, there was a "dividing line between the two carnivals": it was the end of the hegemony of the zés-pereiras and chaotic entrudos.
Aspecto da CinelândiaGeneral Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
The new public space of the republic and capital
Floriano Square and Central Avenue became the preferred spaces for Rio's revelers. The Avenue, designed with French influences, later became a symbol of the Republic and modernity in the federal capital.
Carnival in motion
The Avenue in motion: during carnival, it was through the corso that people moved back and forth. The Avenue, conceived for European-style sauntering and a link between the central and port region of the city, also became a space for parades in open cars, with revelers and their streamers.
Revista A Semana: "Corso" (1930)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Revista da Semana (Weekly Magazine)
The corso appeared on page after page in the Revista da Semana at every carnival.
Desfile do bloco "Vamos Sofrer Juntos", formado por operários de Bonsucesso. (25.02.1949)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
One celebration, several ways
The photo shows members of the Vamos Sofrer Juntos (Let's Suffer Together) rancho group, comprised of workers from Bonsucesso. Born at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, boosted by the migration movement, the rancho had its origins in the celebrations of Folia dos Reis (Revelry of the Kings).
Carro alegórico do bloco "Tenentes do Diabo", também conhecido como "Jangadeiros" (1942)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
The great societies
Emerging mostly in the second half of the 19th century, the great societies, such as the Tenentes do Diabo (Devil's Lieutenants) or the Jangadeiros (seen in this photo) collaborated with theater set designers to construct their monumental allegorical floats.
Foliões no Baile de Carnaval do Theatro Municipal (1958)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Gala at the Municipal Theater, 1958
Accustomed to hosting operas, plays, or musical concerts, the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro also hosted well-attended carnival dances. Major costume contests were also held at the space, traditionally on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
Dance of the Artists, Glória Hotel, undated
The dances at the Rio hotels were also highlighted in the city's calendar. Here we see a photograph of the festivities in the hall of the Glória, a traditional hotel that opened in 1922.
Banho à fantasia, em Copacabana (1950)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Copacabana, 1950
As expected, the Cariocas soon united carnival and the beach. The joining of these two of the city's passions resulted in costumed sea bathing, hosted since the 1920s with a judging panel for the best costumes.
Banho à fantasia, em Copacabana (1950)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Costumed sea bathing
The little revelers don't seem too happy with their seaside costumes...
Carnaval na Praça XI (1951)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Praça XI, 1951
Carnival decorations in Praça XI, where carnival parades were still held, even after the opening of Avenida Presidente Vargas, when the square was incorporated into the new road.
Integrantes de escola de samba (1958)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Carnival on the Rio Branco Avenue, 1958
Rio Branco Avenue became the stage for the samba school parades in 1957.
Desfile do bloco "Bafo da Onça" (1968)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Catumbi, circa 1968
Bafo da Onça revelers parade on Catumbi street, the neighborhood where the bloco (street party) was founded in 1956.
Beija-Flor de Nilópolis em desfile na Marquês de Sapucaí (10.02.1986)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Marquês de Sapucaí, 1989
Inaugurated at the 1984 carnival on Avenida Marquês de Sapucaí, the Sambódromo became the main stage for the Rio carnival. In the photo, members of the Estação Primeira de Mangueira samba school parade with the storyline “Trinca de reis”.
Mayor of Rio de Janeiro
Eduardo Paes
Secretary of State
Eduardo Cavaliere
General Archive of the City of Rio de Janeiro
Rosa Maria Araujo
Documentation Center
Maria Thereza Kahl Fonseca
Curatorship, editing and historical research
Conrado Werneck Pimentel
Text revision
Pedro Paulo Malta
Video editing
Bruno Fontes
Interns
Luísa da Costa de Oliveira and Marcelle Araujo Lins
Film digitization
LUPA/UFF - University Laboratory for Audiovisual Preservation
ReferencesCorreio da Manhã. Rio de Janeiro, quinta-feira, 20 de Fevereiro de 1958
https://memoria.bn.gov.br/docreader/DocReader.aspx?bib=089842_06&pagfis=87820
Rio de Janeiro, 1850-1930: A Cidade e seu Carnaval
Luiz Felipe Ferreira
O Zé Pereira no Carnaval carioca e o seu mito fundador
Vitor Padilha Mattos
Dicionário Cravo Alvim da Música Popular Brasileira
