| Think of Brazilian festivals and the images that spring | | | | works of Brazilian artists to the world, and to plant Sao |
| to mind are of fantastic street parades featuring | | | | Paulo firmly on the international art scene. In addition to |
| dancers in fantastic costumes gyrating to samba | | | | the art biennial, an International Biennial for Architecture |
| rhythms. This is of course the annual Carnival. Carnival | | | | and Design has been held since 1973. |
| starts on a Saturday and officially runs for four days, | | | | Sao Joao |
| ending on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). The actual date | | | | Our last festival is a sacred one celebrated nationwide |
| depends on Easter and so varies between February | | | | - Festa Junina (São João or Saint John |
| and March. | | | | Festival) which is the Catholic replacement for a pagan |
| Carnival | | | | midsummer festival. The tradition was brought to Brazil |
| Carnival celebrations occur in every city in Brazil but | | | | by Portuguese colonists. As Brazil is in the southern |
| the real extravaganza happens in Rio. Here it's the | | | | hemisphere, it becomes a midwinter festival here and |
| samba schools that put on the big show. Each samba | | | | is celebrated in June. It starts one week before St |
| school chooses its theme for the parade and prepares | | | | John's Day and ends one week after and is |
| the elaborate floats and flamboyant costumes that | | | | celebrated with traditional foods, games and dances. |
| define Carnival. | | | | It's mainly celebrated on the days following the Catholic |
| Carnival has its origins in long-ago pagan celebration | | | | feast of Saint Anthony, John the Baptist and Saint |
| held in Greece or Rome. The grand balls that evolved | | | | Peter. |
| from these rituals arrived in Brazil from Italy at the end | | | | While celebrated all over Brazil, Sao Joao is especially |
| of the 19th century. Decades later, they achieved | | | | popular in the rural northeast. Here it marks the |
| legendary status for their splendour and the celebrities | | | | beginning of the rainy season. And as São |
| who attended them at the Copacabana Palace Hotel. | | | | João coincides with the corn harvest, corn-based |
| The actual Samba Parade that is the heart of Carnival | | | | foods are a popular facet of the celebration. These |
| dates from the 1930s. | | | | include canjica and pamonha. Fireworks and bonfires |
| Sao Paulo Art Festival | | | | are key components of the festivities. |
| Another major event on the Brazilian calendar is the | | | | Brazil is always an exciting country to visit. But if you |
| Sao Paulo art festival held biannually in October on | | | | can make your visit during one of the country's many |
| even years. The São Paulo Bienal as it's known | | | | festivals, you can experience a new dimension in |
| locally, features both Brazilian and international art. It's | | | | Brazilian hospitality and enter the heart of life in this |
| the biggest arts event in Latin America and | | | | amazing country. The only difficulty with visiting the |
| showcases art, theater, music, and architecture. | | | | events in |
| Taking the Venice Biennial as its model, the São | | | | Brazil might be your accommodation. Be sure to have |
| Paulo Art Biennial was founded in 1951 by the | | | | a reservation, because hotels in Rio de Janeiro or |
| Italian-Brazilian industrialist Ciccillo Matarazzo. The | | | | hotels in Sao Paolo could be fully booked during the |
| original aim of the festival was to make international | | | | festivals. Of course the Internet offers many |
| modern art better known in Brazil, to promote the | | | | opportunities to book Brazil hotels in advance. |