Most of the dancing is done to axé music, a fusion of African/Brazilian/pop styles that came up in the mid-1980s and took Brazil by storm.
Carnival in Salvador lasts six days, since it officially starts on Friday, and not on Saturday as usual in Brazil. Most of the fun revolves around crowds filling the streets grouped in blocos, or dancing blocs of people, as they follow bands that play on moving stages atop big trucks carrying massive sound equipment. These are named trios elétricos (electric trios), for the ensemble that launched the concept of Carnival music played on electric guitars atop a moving vehicle, back in the 1950s. Two of those musicians, Dodô and Osmar, are still active in Carnival, with fellow band member Armandinho.
The trios elétricos roll slowly along two main circuits named after those pioneers. Another circuit features an even more traditional kind of Carnival, without electric trios. Read on for more details. You may want to take a look at the Circuit Maps on the Official Salvador Carnival Website, a great online source which was referred to for a lot of the information on this page.
Dancers cover about 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) in six hours. This circuit includes some historical landmarks, but it doesn't border the beach. It's also known as the Traditional Circuit, since it's been going on for decades, or as the Avenida Circuit, because it follows Avenida (Avenue) Sete de Setembro.
Also known as Circuito Barra/Ondina, for the neighborhoods where it starts and finishes: the area around Farol da Barra, Salvador's signature lighthouse, and Ondina. The blocos cover about 2.5 miles (4 km) in 4 hours, always along the beach.
Whereas the other circuits are frantic and adult, this circuit provides a more suitable environment for families – or any traveler who prefers a milder version of Salvador carnival. Batatinha features percussion groups such as Olodum and afoxés. An afoxé (pronounced "afoSHEH") is a Carnival musical group spiritually committed to the African-Brazilian religion of candomblé.
The most famous afoxé in Salvador parades down this circuit. Filhos de Gandhy (Sons of Gandhi – notice the bloco changed a letter in Gandhi’s name to avoid infringements of rights) was founded in 1949 by dockside workers and in keeping with that tradition, so far its core has been composed exclusively of men. It is inspired by the Mahatma’s peaceful ideals.
Members of Filhos de Ghandy don't consume alcohol and parade the streets during Carnival dressed in white and blue African-style attire, singing, playing wind instruments and working up their great percussion.
Watch a video of Salvador's Trio Elétrico Circuits and you may be able to notice that even though it is very wild, there is some order underlying it all. For starters, no matter how democratic Carnival in Salvador may be, some people are just a little more pampered than others – and by all means, plan on joining them. It's the safe way to go.
Each bloco has its own abadá – a shirt with a design that identifies its members. Ropes carried by a security team encircle bloco members. A reveler without an abadá is called a pipoca, or “popcorn” – someone who can't trespass on the cordoned area and has no access to the members' support truck, which features a snack bar, restrooms and an emergency unit.
Abadás must be purchased in advance and picked up in Salvador. An Abadá VIP (in Brazil, pronounced as a word rhyming with "hip") grants privileges such as whisky and finger foods or access to exclusive bathrooms and to the top of the support truck.
Although pictures and videos of Carnival in Salvador don't usually focus on police officers, a security system is there. Besides the regular police force, revelers dance amidst a security staff numbering over 600 people in all, hired by blocos to contain the crowds and keep the flow moving as smoothly as possible along the designated circuit.
All private security plans are reviewed in advance by the Brazilian Federal Police. Basically, these are the functions performed by security organizations during the parade:
- Rope Holders – They carry the ropes that separate the dancers who signed up with a bloco from the dancers who didn't (the so-called “popcorn” revelers), and help keep up the pace so bottlenecks don't form. There are about 400 rope holders in all.
- Rope Inspectors – Each inspector monitors about 10 rope holders.
- Rope Supervisors – They supervise about 5 rope inspectors each.
- Disciplinary Supervisors – About 70 supervisors in all walk at the front of the bloco as pacesetters, keeping dancers away from the ropes and monitoring the revelers' access to the support vehicle.
- Line Monitors – They monitor lines to restrooms, cash registers and bars.
- Costume Inspectors – They walk among the dancers, making sure that popcorns don't invade the area reserved to registered dancers, and also keep an eye out for falsified costumes and vendors without a license.
- Security Agents – More than 50 professionals move about as the blocos press on, ready to handle excessive or aggressive behavior. They must work for companies approved by the Federal Police.
