Updated on Feb.5, 2012
A redemptive quality permeates the Madness Festival, an event which joins debates in psychiatry and cultural events in Barbacena, Minas Gerais (pop. 122,377).
There's no festival in Brazil quite like this inclusive gathering where tourists mingle with patients of the Barbacena Psychiatric Hospital Center(CHPB), which, for about 50 years, was an overpopulated facility where patients were interned in horrific conditions.
The Madness Festival, in its 6th edition in 2012, is one of the most recent signs of a change which started in the early 1980s, following the spread of the movement against insane asylums.
In a process evocative of the portrait of collective compassion created by writer João Guimarães Rosa in "Sorôco, sua mãe, sua filha", in the book The Third Bank of the River and Other Stories (1962), Barbacena has embraced the fight against stigma and exclusion.
Instead of the "trem de doido" (madman's train) which used to drop hundreds of people with all kinds of psychiatric conditions in town every week, the city now receives a large influx of tourists for the festival.
Certified Nutcase for a Weekend
During the four-day event, which as of 2009 has been scheduled for July so it is part of the winter festival circuit in Minas Gerais, every participant can apply for a certified nutcase ID card - as in the equivalent expression in Portuguese, louco de carteirinha.
Self-effacing humor is one of the expressions of dignity in the festival, when patients participate in a series of street performances and events. Barbacena's psychiatric patients also have their own Carnival bloco, Tirando a Máscara ("Taking Off the Mask"), formed by patients, former patients, hospital staff and whoever wants to join in the fun.
Events in Psychiatry
Debates at the Madness Festival tackle urgent questions in psychiatry in general and in Brazil specifically.
Some of the themes in previous years have been residential treatment, the role of workshops in resocialization and in preparation for the job market, and madness in literary creation.
Cultural Events at Madness Festival
Concerts are one of the highlights. Art exhibits, the burlesque comedy of Tangos e Tragédias, plays and choir performances are other attractions. Performances take place mainly on a stage and at the Buteko Trem de Doido, a bar at the main train station.
Where to Stay and Eat:
Some of the best food in Barbacena is served at the city's hotels such as:
- Grogotó (www.mg.senac.br/hotelgrogoto)
- Master Plaza (www.masterplaza.com.br)
- Parque Hotel Mantiqueira (www.parkhotelmantiqueira.com.br)
