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2	History Exact Origins of Carnaval are somewhat unclear and hard to determine Began in Egypt as a celebration of the god Osiris Carnaval became linked with Catholic Church in 325AD when Niceia established the exact day of Easter Portuguese brought Carnaval to Brazil in 1641 when Benevides created a festival Dom Joao IV, new king of Portugal Then the festival became a precursor to Lent and literally meant “Goodbye to the flesh” Carnaval was developed as a totally uninhibited party where people could prepare themselves for the next 40 days by indulging food, music, sex
3	AFRICAN INFLUENCE Large numbers of African descendants greatly contributed to Carnaval Largest influence is the samba school parade that began in 1929 All famous versions of Carnaval in Brazil happen in cities where slavery took place The parades have African themes and carry social messages Caranaval groups called blocos afros promote black awareness and transformed Carnaval into an expression of Black Pride
4	"Samba schools are not literally..." Samba schools are not literally schools but carnaval societies---Named after elementary school across the street where they met Involves thousands of people and money Each parade has a theme chosen by carnavalesco In June the message is sent to escola composers so they can write sambas on theme Directors choose best ones & in Aug. rehearsals begin to pick the best samba In Oct. The winner is announced and all focus goes into preparation and rehearsals for the parade
5	"During the parades each samba..." During the parades each samba school is judged by a jury on a scale of 1-10 on numerous apects of perfomance There's much more to Carnival than the Samba Parade Each neighborhood has its favorite Bandas or Blocos (bands) during the Street Carnaval There are magnificent balls and galas at night clubs
6	Different Flavors of Carnaval In Salvador the music comes from trios electricos In Recife the music is frevo In Bahia afoxe takes on a more religious tone