Carnival culture: the beauty of Rio de Janeiro

On many occasions my father took us by train to the statue of Christ, a twenty-minute journey to the top of the granite mountain some 710 metres above sea level. Sometimes the weather closed in and formed a blanket of cloud engulfing the view, but on a clear day we could see the large lagoon (Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas) where we hired pedal boats and spent many an afternoon rather noisily challenging one another to a race, much to the despair of the adults accompanying us! The statue of Christ is a further thirty-eight metres up the mountain and is truly magnificent, especially when bathed in golden light at dusk. Behind the statue there is a winding road and many steps to the foot of the monument itself, which is hard work for both young and old legs!

The Sugar Loaf Mountain, a natural monument of 600 million-year-old granite, is another famous landmark and vantage point to gain mind-blowing views. I remember the aerial cable car so well, particularly the time we broke down on our way to watch the sunset over Rio. Thankfully we weren’t stranded for long.

There is of course a flipside to Rio’s beauty – there are over 700 favelas in the city. These impoverished neighbourhoods cover large areas and are ruled by drug barons. The government, through its police force, are now trying to take steps to overrule the favelas and make them safe and some can be visited through ‘favela tours’.

Rio’s carnival is the largest in the world and great numbers flock to the city every year. The event lasts for two weeks and is made up of the official carnival, with numerous samba schools parading on large floats with flamboyant costumes, jesters, magicians, drums, percussion and samba; the Brazilian dance with an African influence. A VIP box to watch the Sambadrome procession will cost around £2,000, but the street bands and parties in each neighbourhood in Rio are mostly free.

Carnival isn’t exclusive to Rio though; it’s celebrated in towns and villages throughout Brazil.

My brothers and I were fortunate to be able to join in with Carnival no matter where we were in the country but our father was ever mindful that we should not look like gringos, which could cause unwanted attention.

One of the many reasons Rio was such a great place to stay was the chance to eat a diverse range of foods. Bob’s, the Brazilian equivalent of McDonald’s, was a special treat when, every once in a while, my father would break the rule of avoiding fast food restaurants and allow us to indulge! More frequently we would head to a Churrascaria (all you can eat) restaurant comprised of barbecued meats as well as buffet-style accompaniments, or a Comida por kilo restaurant – a self-service buffet where food is weighed (minus the plate weight) and you literally pay per kilogram. The pricing structure would depend on location and type of food served. For example, sushi would be more expensive in the southern part of Rio.

Both restaurants serve Feijoada – Brazil’s national dish made with dried black beans and pork offal such as ears, snout, tail and trotters. There are two interesting stories relating to the creation of this dish. One is that it originates from the colonial slaves who worked on coffee and sugar cane plantations, who incorporated the inexpensive, undesirable offcuts, infrequently given to them to make their staple diet of beans and rice more delicious. The other is that it derived from southern Europe, where cooking less noble cuts of pork in a thick bean stew was commonplace, normally using kidney beans, white beans or chickpeas. Brazilian Feijoada materialised with the inclusion of black beans.

For my brothers and I, sitting in a restaurant environment was quite tedious at times and what we loved most was hanging out at the beach and enjoying a quick, convenient snack – street food. A favourite was kibe, which originated from Lebanon and is a delicious mix of minced beef, bulgur wheat and seasonings, often served on a stick or just in a serviette. The other was a pastel – a very light pastry, similar to filo, with delicious assorted fillings. We also loved Espetos de frango – barbecued chicken pieces served on a skewer – or Salgados de peixe; whole fried mini fish, similar to whitebait.