Carnaval Curriculum Units
The Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona offered its second round of workshops for K-12 teachers during the spring semester of 2003. Educators interested in Latin America met to explore specific topics related to the Latin world. They engaged in presentations from university faculty and community experts at an academic level to satisfy their personal interest and knowledge. They also discussed ways to incorporate such information into the K-1 curriculum. The lessons found in this collection were derived from theses dialogue sessions. The titles of the spring 2003 workshops were: Carnaval, Tango and Central America.
We have created three lessons for each of theses workshops, a primary lesson, intermediate lesson and secondary lesson. However each is adaptable to a variety of teaching levels. Please modify information, ideas and the activities to fit your appropriate level, and feel free to share your ideas with the outreach department. A variety of teachers participated in the workshops, not just social studies or Spanish teachers. Such a mixture of expertise and personal interest enriched the discussion and lessons created, as well as reminded us all of the power behind interdisciplinary learning. Hopefully the lessons found in this collection will inspire you to include information and details from Latin America into your own teaching.
Lessons
Workshop Organizers and Participants
Kristel Foster
Workshop coordination
Robin Zenger
CLAS Outreach Director
Participating Educators:
- Maria Balaguer
- Elizabeth Barrett
- Barbara Beamer
- Rennee Bennett
- Steve Bracamonte
- Dolores Carrion
- Yolanda Garcia DeCruz
- Maritz Everis
- Patricia Dow
- Stephen Gomez
- Obudlia Gonzalez
- Jenny Graber
- Elliot Lax
- Betty Liverman
- Karen Lowery
- Norma Martinez
- Pat McElory
- Sam Mendivil
- Amy Mol
- Margie Mora
- Guillermo Navarro
- Julie Rigoli
- Nancy Smith
- Raynelda Saba
- Norberta Sousa
- Edel Camero
- Marco Bravo
- Tobias Canto
- Gerson Gonzalez
- Juan Guerrero
- Roland Herman
- Jenny Mia
Pre-Lesson Resources & Histories
Carnaval Videos
(Borrow from CLAS)
(B 2) Black Orpheus (Lopert films, Inc.) Director Marcel Camus' quintessential love story based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is set against the vivid backdrop of carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Orpheus, the streetcar conductor, falls hopelessly in love with Eurydice; winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes as well as an Oscar for Best Film. Portuguese w/Eng. subtitles. 103 min. France/Italy 1959
(B 22) Susanna Sharpe and the Samba Police (U.S. Dept of Education & Univ. of Texas Institute for Latin American Studies) Video shows different instruments and rhythms of Brazilian music. Songs in Portuguese, narration in English. 30 min. 1992
**The Spanish language network Telemundo often shows a few hours of the Carnaval footage from Brazil each February.
A Short History of Carnaval
Throughout the world, every year, countries take part in a festival, which is based upon the Christian season of Lent. In most countries, the festival is called Carnival. In the United States you might recognize the celebration by the name of Mardi Gras. In the past this event has been marked by parades and masked balls for members of the Catholic Church. Today Carnival has become a widely attended, secular event that the Church might view as being filled with sin and excess, such as drinking and dancing.
The history that surrounds the modern version of Carnaval (in Portuguese) celebrated in Brazil today dates back to ancient Rome around the first century B.C.E. One of the most pressing concerns in the life of ancient Rome was fertility. Some practices of the Romans during their fertility festivals—sex, drunkenness and gluttony—went against the teachings of the early Roman Catholic Church. Even though the Church became powerful, it was unable to change many of these traditional activities, so it sought a way for the behavior to continue under Christian customs. One solution was to allow a big celebration before the season of Lent, the most serious time of the Christian year. People were allowed to follow the teachings of the Church and during Carnaval were able to participate in these particular behaviors. By permitting this celebration, it was easier for the Church to excuse these behaviors as essential to the happiness of the population.
The changes taking place in Brazil during the nineteenth century resulted in many limits to the power of the Catholic Church. In 1889, the church was separated from the state and the people were now allowed to practice religion in any manner they chose. Neither the state nor the church was allowed to interfere with religious practices. In this atmosphere, modern Carnaval was born.
The present day practices of Carnaval also arose from the abolition of slavery in 1888. Following the emancipation of Black slaves in Brazil, two distinct groups formed among ex-slaves. One group who were able to retain their jobs in the city and the other group who were poor, jobless and forced into the favelas in the outskirts of the cities. While these two groups were separated, their love of dance and music remained a bond that led to the formation of the samba schools and a need for a festival to show off their moves to one another. Thus, there was a motive for celebration and a need for a festival for all to compete in. The new celebration that was born out of the emancipation of the slaves in 1888, and the separation of church and state around this same period, remained connected with the season of Lent and has today become a celebration of grand proportions that attracts many observers from all over the world.
Today, the preparation for Carnaval in Brazil begins a year prior to the event, which provides full-time employment for many people. The events have become so important, and of such great value to the people of Brazil, that preparations for the party must be started as soon as the previous year’s festival ends. Another positive aspect for the people of Rio de Janeiro is the steady stream of tourists that have been drawn to this event. During Carnaval, the tourist industry booms, bringing money to all levels of Brazil’s economy. With Carnaval being such an all-inclusive event the government has had to institute plans to keep the city running, as nearly five days are consumed by the festival and during this time the city is practically shut down.
Source:
Portland State University, Latin American Center, Latin American Website Project
Samba Schools
The first samba schools were actually small groups with less than 50 people parading to a percussion sound, without specific costumes. These groups, called blocos, began to incorporate imaginative, daring ideas. The first famous bloco in 1928 was called Deixa Falar in Rio de Janeiro. These parades soon became well-organized competitions. The first was in 1932 and was won by a bloco named Mangueira. In 1935 samba schools were officially registered as gremios, or recreation clubs. During the 1940s and the 1950s, samba schools became associated with the colors of the flags they would wave and the music they would play during their performances. Particular samba schools became well known for their particular colors and music, the same way certain sports teams are associated with certain colors and symbols. During the 1960s and 1970s, samba schools began to embelish their visual aspect, turning their music and dance into grand theatrical pieces of art. Often, famous artists would contribute their work to certain samba schools and their performances.
Some samba clubs have spontaneous samba groups and musicians, but are not highly organized like a samba school. Their atmosphere is that of a club where people go to hear samba and dance. There are also many places to learn how to play and dance samba, but these are not called samba schools. The instructors may belong to a samba school, but teaching how to dance is not a part of a school’s responsibility. Rather, samba schools are more like dance companies in the United States, except that they have their own musical group that writes its own songs.
Carnaval parades are no longer simple contests between different neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro. The last twenty years have brought great economic rewards for winning samba schools. This competition for monetary gain has motivated schools to incorporate marketing and advertising strategies, filling the tradition with pop-music and pop-culture.
Today, a samba school must have the following: a bateria (a group of drummers) that composes its own songs, a group of baianas, (flag-bearers), a ballroom master, and a parade once a year in a formal setting with a chosen theme. A bloco is a mini-samba school. Blocos have a percussion unit and dancers and participate formally in parade formations once a year. The biggest and best-known samba schools are located in Rio de Janeiro. Some of the most famous samba schools are: Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Mangueira, Beija Flor, Portela, Viradouro, and Unidos da Tijuca.
Samba originated in the rhythms of African slave music. The word samba actually means “navel bump” in the Quimbundo language. Quimbundo is the language of the Bantu people, who were brought to Brazil during the slave trade over four hundred years ago. The Bantu people were from the area in Africa that today we know as Angola.
Source: http://sambistas.online.fr/en-france/defsHistoireEn.html
Carnaval Unit Bibiliography
Secondary
Cowly, John, Carnival, Canboulay and Calypso: Traditions in the Making, Cambridge University Press, March 1996.
This book traces the evolution of Carnival and secular black music in Trinidad and beyond. Contemporary newspaper reports, colonial documents, travelogues, oral history and folklore provide an authoritative treatment of a fascinating story in popular cultural history.
Guillermoprieto, Alma, ¡Samba! Vintage Books, August 1991
The author follows the preparations from the perspective of the champion Manguiera team, 5000 strong, and finds a serious community project to which all contribute despite their poverty and the high cost of costumes. The Manguiera team honors its African roots in its themes.
Mason, Peter, Bacchanal: The Carnival Culture of Trinidad, Temple Univ. Press, 1999.
The past, present, and future of carnival, using not just personal observations and printed sources but also interviews with a wide variety of participants, including performers, pan tuners, designers, and stick fighters. Carnival brings together nearly all aspects of Trinidad's cultural identity—religion, music, language, humor, folk traditions, politics, gender roles, ethnic traditions, even food and sport. The author explores its wit and its vulgarity, its colors and heart-pounding noise, its competitiveness and spontaneity, the months of hard work to produce two days of exuberant self-abandonment—all the complex energies that lead to "Bacchanal!" Companion CD available
McGowan, Chris, Pessanha, Ricardo, The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil, Temple University Press, 1998
A comprehensive history of popular music in Brazil. Illustrations help achieve the authors' goal of inspiring interest in this music. Current music and musicians are introduced, social analysis is provided, and includes a discography of 1000 titles.
McGowan, Chris, Pessanha, Ricardo, Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro and the Samba Schools: A History and Introduction to Brazilian Carnival, Temple University Press, 1998
The Samba Schools have been an integral part of Rio's Carnaval and have evolved into a grand spectacle, an overwhelming experience for both participants and observers. The parades encompass dazzling floats, outlandish costumes, thousands of dancers, and veritable symphony orchestras of rhythm.
Teissl, Helmut, Carnival in Rio, Abbeville Press, 2000.
The next best thing to being there. A photographic celebration of Rio's annual Carnival, paired with a CD of the rhythms and sounds of the festival.
Primary
**Ancona, George, Carnaval , Harcourt, 1999
The people of the Brazilian town of Olinda sew costumes, paint masks, and create giant puppet as they prepare for carnaval. Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, carnaval is a five-day festival of parades, dancing, and singing. But unlike Mardi Gras, Olinda’s carnaval still celebrates the traditions and folklore of the people and the shared cultures—indigenous, European, and African—that make up Brazil.
Dorros, Arthur, Tonight Is Carnaval, Puffin, 1999
The text, illustrated with photographs of arpilleras (three-dimensional fabric wall hangings), covers three days in the life of a Peruvian boy as he and his family prepare for a carnaval celebration in the nearby village. The boy describes the everyday work that must be finished as he anticipates the festivities and practices the music he will play with his band. The information about the daily life of the people of the Andes is reinforced by the brilliantly colored folk art.
Gabbert Lisa, Mardi Gras: A City's Masked Parade (Festivals! USA), Powerkids Press, January 2003
The tradition of Carnival celebrated in New Orleans is explored through pictures.
Heinrichs, Ann, Brazil, Children's Book Press, 1997
Describes the geography, plants, animals, history, economy, culture, and people of Brazil.
** = Copies available from the Center for Latin American Studies, University of Arizona.