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ESTARREJA’S CARNIVAL – PART II:
THE NIGHT PARADE
I was Feb ua y 28, 2025. We a i ed in Es a eja abou 30 minu es be o e he s a o he samba schools’ nigh pa ade
and we could no ice ha he e was a lo o mo emen a ound he ci y o he Ca ni al. The e a e some people in
cos umes and ga he ed in g oups, bu he gene al c owd is made up o amilies and e e yone is hea ily d essed wi h
laye s because o he cold wea he . Unlike a B azilian Ca ni al, whe e he pa y and he noise ake all he s ee s by
s o m, he e we ha e a ai ly es ained Ca ni al, wi h people going o he Ca ni al si e in an o ganized way and alking
a a ema kably low olume.
We ook a sho b eak o dinne a a snack s and and hen an o ou sec ion o he g ands and, ha ing o c oss he
Ca ni al a enue, whe e he pa ade would ake place, in o de o ge he e. A his poin , I almos los Leo, who was
anxious and a aid o missing he pa ade. Ul ima ely, e e y hing wen well and we go eady o wa ch he i s
p ocession.
Righ om he s a , he a mosphe e in he s ands is unlike a Ca ni al pa ade in B azil. The e a e ha dly any people
cha ing, singing, dancing o celeb a ing. The public’s eac ion is limi ed o wa ching he pa ade, whose i s school on
he a enue is
T epa de Es a eja
[Es a eja’s Climbing], whose heme is dedica ed o he wo k o An ónio Va iações, he
unique Po uguese musician who was a hi in he la e ’70s and ea ly ’80s.
The school’s pa ade ea u es a on commission ha , unlike
Vai Quem Que
[Whoe e wan s o go], has only a ew men
pa ading. The male p esence is imid h oughou he pa ade, bu appea s in some allego ies and wings. Du ing his
pa ade, we go h ough he e olu ion o An ónio Va iações’ ca ee , wi h highligh s such as a beau y salon o a s age wi h
An ónio a he cen e , illumina ed by LED panels and a disco globe.
In he audience, he e a e imid eac ions, such as b ie claps o accompany he music and a ew sc eams whene e a
wing passes close o a g oup o suppo e s o ha pa icula school. Howe e , he e is no sign o dancing in he s ands.
A d one passes by wi h he school’s lag high abo e he a enue, which a ac s he public’s a en ion. On he a enue,
he
passis as
send kisses o iends hey loca e in he s ands and a e ex emely smiley, in a ges u e o happiness o
ha ing accomplished a leng hy job, a he same ime as hey a e pe o ming as passis as pa ading on he a enue.
Meanwhile, he pa ade o ganize s s and o he side, ollowing each wing, always keeping an eye on he ime and
shou ing o he passis as “c’mon, le ’s go”, signaling ha hey mus un o mee he pa ade ime.
Figu es 1 o 3. Samba School “
T epa de Es a eja
” Pa ade
A he end o he i s pa ade, I ake a sho b eak o ge some bee s and, in he ba , he e is al eady a ga he ing o
ca na alescos
and suppo e s, o he sound o “
Aleg ia
” by I e e Sangalo. The g oups a e qui e es ic ed and he e isn’
much oom o in e ac ion, bu I did no ice a ew ca ni al pe o me s om he “
Cha anguinha
” g oup om O a , who
we e exci ed abou he nex school o pa ade,
Vai Quem Que
. I go he imp ession ha , despi e a ce ain amoun o
i al y be ween ci ies o he i le o “bes Ca ni al in Po ugal”, he g oups hemsel es show a mu ual espec o all
hose who make hese ca ni als happen.
Re u ning o he s ands, he
Vai Quem Que
pa ade begins, wi h i s heme ocusing on ag icul u al adi ions in
Po ugal. In con as o ou i s isi o he echnical ehea sal, he pa ade i sel – wi h all he p oduc ion o allego ies
and cos umes – is a he enchan ing. As I had al eady memo ized he school’s samba-en edo, I sang i a he op o my
lungs, which a oused a ew s a es om he su ounding public, as i I we e b eaking he i ual o he es i al he e in
Po ugal. A he end o he
Vai Quem Que
pa ade, he membe s o he “
Cha anguinha
” g oup om O a immedia ely
commen ed: “They’ e al eady won, hey don’ e en need o compe e”. My colleague Leo also endo sed his cho us,
a guing ha
Vai Quem Que
p esen ed a pa ade much close o a Rio de Janei o pa ade han he p e ious school.
Despi e my sympa hy o
Vai Quem Que
o he ecep ion we ecei ed, I con ess ha I was mo e imp essed by he i s
school (
T epa de Es a eja
), despi e being a comple e ou side when i comes o Ca ni al. Su p isingly, my lack o
knowledge was ma ched by he judges’ o es, as
T epa de Es a eja
and i s An ónio Va iações we e he winne s o he
pa ade.
Figu es 4 o 6. Samba School “
Vai Quem Que
” Pa ade
Following he
Vai Quem Que
pa ade, we had he
Os Mo enos
school, wi h a heme ocused on he uni e se o li e a u e
and i s impo ance. Wi h a samba-en edo ha mixed d eams, ai y ales and a passion o he blue and whi e school,
he pa ade was – possibly – he one ha elici ed he mos esponse om he public. O pa icula no e in his pa ade
was he p esence o a disabled child, pa ading alongside his walke as a los boy om Pe e Pan’s Ne e land. I could
also see ha , o he child en in he s ands, i was a g ea ime o celeb a ion, ei he h owing con e i on he a enue o
joining he ba ie s o he s ands o ge a close look a he pa ade.
Figu es 7 o 9. Samba School “
Os Mo enos
” Pa ade
Finally, he e was he pa ade o he
Samba T ibal
school, which p esen ed a pa ade paying homage o he A ican
con inen . This may ha e been he pa ade ha mos su p ised us, ei he because i p esen ed a ibal A ica, wi h an
emphasis on sa annahs and animals (such as a zeb a on one o he allego ical elemen s), o because i ea u ed
Po uguese passis as pa ading wi h wigs ha emula ed cu ly hai and black powe – was his a ges u e o ecogni ion
and espec o di e ences? I’d a he see i his way han belie e i ’s jus a case o cul u al app op ia ion. A he end o
he pa ade, ano he su p ise: he school had a black ca ni al designe a he head o he
samba-en edo
, possibly he
pe son who sugges ed he A ican heme.
Figu es 10 o 12. Samba School “
Samba T ibal
” Pa ade
I , a i s , I had a gigan ic imp ession ha i was all a mel ing po o cul u al app op ia ion a he han a mel ing po o
cul u al hyb idi y (Canclini, 1990; Bhabha, 1998), he mo e I e lec ed, he mo e I unde s ood ha I was acing a la ge
hi d space, de ined by Bhabha as he:
con adic o y and ambi alen space o enuncia ion […] I is he Thi d Space ha , al hough
in i sel un ep esen able, cons i u es he discu si e condi ions o enuncia ion, ensu ing
ha he meaning and symbols o cul u e ha e no p imo dial uni y o ixi y – and ha e en
he same signs can be app op ia ed, ansla ed, e-his o icized and ead in ano he way.
(Bhabha, 1998, pp. 67-68)
This hi d space ha we ha e loca ed, when looked a h ough a decolonial pe spec i e (Walsh, 2006), b ings ou a
se ies o ambi alences, among which I wonde i his ansla ion and e-signi ica ion o cul u al p ac ices om he
B azilian Ca ni al espec he coun y o o igin o i i can be in e p e ed as a sub le ges u e o ecoloniza ion. The
same ques ion applies o he ep esen a ion o A ica: is i a ges u e o honou and app ecia ion o he con inen ’s
his o y o an app op ia ion ha can be ead as a sub le ges u e o ecoloniza ion? Fu he mo e, does he ac ha hey
sing in B azilian Po uguese signi y a espec o his a ian o he language? How does his subsequen ly impac he
li es o hose who ake pa in his Ca ni al? And does he igu e o he sensual woman ep esen ed by he passis as
symbolize an emancipa ion o he Po uguese emale body o pe pe ua e exo icized images o B azilian women?
I would like o s ess ha hese ques ions a e mean o s imula e a deba e, especially om a decolonial poin o iew.
Howe e , I would like o highligh he joy (albei modes ) o e e yone who isi ed he Es a eja Ca ni al. I hope ha
ini ia i es such as he Es a eja Ca ni al will pa e he way o g ea e ole ance o linguis ic a ie ies and collec i e
imagina ies in Po ugal, e en i i is h ough a con using hi d space ha p omo es mul icul u alism in he Es a eja
s yle.
Tex and images:
Lucas No ais
(CECS/Uni e si y o Minho)
Published in June 12, 2025
This mic o-essay is he second pa o a duology en i led “
Es a eja’s Ca ni al: A Thi d Space c ea ed by he Samba
Schools
“
.
The i s pa can be ead
he e
.
Re e ences
Bhabha, H. K. (1998).
O local da cul u a
(P. A. Nascimen o, T ans.). Belo Ho izon e: Edi o a UFMG.
Canclini, N. G. (1990).
Cul u as híb idas: Es a egias pa a en a y sali de la mode nidad
. México: G ijalbo.
Walsh, C. (2006). In e cul u alidad y colonialidad del pode : Un pensamien o y posicionamien o o o desde la di e encia
colonial. In C. Walsh, W. Mignolo & Á. Ga cía Line a (Eds.),
In e cul u alidad, descolonización del Es ado y del conocimien o
(pp. 21–70). Buenos Ai es: Ediciones del Signo.
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