Rehearsals at samba schools in Rio gain momentum with public participation

The public’s feelings at the technical rehearsals of the Rio de Janeiro Special Group schools are directly related to their involvement in each group that performs at the Sambadrome in preparation for the official parades during Carnival. This year, the first to prove this was Unidos do Porto da Pedra, which was responsible for opening the 2024 technical rehearsals on Sunday (7) and took its loyal audience to the stands.

As champion in 2023 of the Gold Series group, the school from São Gonçalo, in the metropolitan region of Rio, won the right to return to the Sapucaí stage in the elite parades of the Rio carnival.

For carnival artist Mauro Quintaes, who is in charge of the plot The Perpetual Lunar: The Prophetic of Popular Knowledgein red and white for 2024, the preparation of Porto da Pedra this year pleased and showed the involvement of the São Gonçalo community.

“The Porto da Pedra parade was very rewarding because it brought the vision that we really chose the right samba. It brought the vision that the community of São Gonçalo really has samba on the tip of its tongue and sings with great passion. The result was very positive in terms of technical aspects and the rehearsal, satisfactory not only for me, as an artist and carnival worker, but also for the entire school management”, said Quintaes.

According to the carnival worker, the technical rehearsal represents training, coordination, correcting errors, surprises and serves so that the school management and components have a small idea of ​​what will be done on the avenue, mainly in terms of timing, and the presentations of the front committee and double master room and flag bearer, in addition to the drums.

Quintaes said he is a fan of the technical rehearsal, which he considers very necessary. For him, it would be better to have more technical tests during the year. “The ideal would be more than one, but, if that was not possible, this unique rehearsal of ours was wonderful. Porto da Pedra is extremely prepared. I ask you to watch and enjoy the Porto da Pedra parade with the plot The Perpetual Lunar: The Prophetic of Popular Knowledge”, he recommended excitedly.

In 1992, Selminha Sorriso formed the couple of master of the room and flag bearer Estácio de Sá with Claudinho. And they were champions right from their debut. In 1996 they moved to Beija-Flor, where they are to this day and with nine championships in the blue and white of Nilópolis. Although he sees an increase in rigidity in the structure of technical trials over the years, Selminha stated that public involvement remains.

“It’s a people that interacts more. These are people who, for the most part, do not have the opportunity to go to the official parade and who wait for the rehearsals to have some entertainment, some joy, some time to hang out. It’s free and it’s safe, it’s love. Those who really like samba really enjoy going to the technical rehearsal. The communities come out in force. Those from the hills go down the hills, those from the Baixada go to the center [onde se localiza o Sambódromo]. It’s a very magical thing,” she said.

It was the public’s involvement that gave strength to the experienced flag bearer in a difficult moment that she went through in 2015. “I already had the situation of the technical rehearsal changing my story. The audience screamed and applauded Selminha at a time when I really needed affection. I think the dance was contagious and they said: ‘this is Selminha’, they shouted my name. It’s wonderful, I always get emotional. It was very important. That moment made a lot of difference in my career”, recalled Selminha. “The technical rehearsal is a moment of conviviality for simple people from communities who go there to pay homage to their idols.”

Battery

The rigid organization of the rehearsals contrasts with the public’s relaxation awakened by the schools’ drums. The entrance of rhythm artists onto the avenue always causes excitement in the stands. The interaction between the public and the rhythmists is evident. “The feeling is that you can contribute to the joy of the people. This is very cool. I like it a lot, because it’s true samba. That audience that is there doesn’t go to the official parade and gets emotional with us”, highlighted Mestre Ciça, Viradouro’s drum director.

For journalist Fábio Fabato, historian and author of the plot synopsis Ask for Cashew and I Give… Cashew Tree that Gives!, of Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel in 2024, the involvement occurs because there is the presence of the de facto samba school public, who attend the associations all year round and do not have the money to pay for entry to the official parades.

“It’s a much hotter show and aimed at samba schools all year round. The public that goes to the Sambadrome, who has money to pay, is not the public at samba schools. Therefore, we have a certain difference in behavior during the technical rehearsal and the official parade. The audience at the technical rehearsal sings the samba knowing the lyrics, they are much more involved, because there is a real passionate issue. He’s there because he loves samba school. It’s a completely different sensation, it’s unique and magical because it achieves natural popular acclaim”, said Fabato in an interview with the reporter.

According to Fabato, the public sings even without a sound system. “The public took Mocidade’s samba to Gogó, in other words, it was her audience and passionate about her, who consume her information all year round”, he concluded.

On the same day as the Porto da Pedra technical rehearsal, Mocidade faced failures in the sound car used by the organization. After a complaint from the school, in a plenary meeting, the League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro (Liesa) determined that there would be another date for the school to carry out its technical rehearsal. The performance will be this Sunday (21st) at 6:30 pm, preceding the Paraíso do Tuiuti rehearsals, at 8:30 pm; and Salgueiro, at 10pm. At least, that’s what is expected, if the rehearsals are not suspended due to rain, which already happened the previous weekend.

Changes

In the time she had on the avenue, Selminha was able to notice the changes that occurred in the technical tests. “We could go back and forth, stop to correct, talk. Not today. The charge is higher even for the social network. With a phone at hand, everyone is a judge and journalist and wants to share their opinion. There was a time when you could make corrections and test what you had been rehearsing all year and, on the day, do the best you could. Now the rehearsals have a certain demand and it seems like they have become a dispute, and in fact it was necessary to prepare a little more”, she emphasized.

Experienced in carnival, Mestre Ciça also pointed out the spirit of competition that currently exists in the format of technical rehearsals. “Nowadays, the carnival technical rehearsal has become a competition – this is my opinion. Today you can’t even make mistakes in the technical test because people fight each other over the internet and social media. In reality, we are putting on a parade that only lacks allegory and fantasy. The demand is very high, and people label it as a technical test”, said the award-winning master, who has also commanded batteries at Estácio de Sá, Unidos da Tijuca, Grande Rio, União da Ilha.

For the president of Liesa, Jorge Perlingeiro, the transformations that have occurred represent an advance in technical testing. “Until about six, seven years ago, the technical test participants even went barefoot, wearing shorts of each color. Today the technical rehearsal comes with costumes and t-shirts alluding to the plot. In place of the allegories, they put large trucks with panels of led talking about the plot, in short, with a whole apparatus. The technical rehearsal today is a beautiful spectacle”, said Perlingeiro.

He added that he is studying a form of sponsorship to cover part of the costs of moving school components to the Sambadrome and to cover the cost of the sound cars used in technical rehearsals. “There is already a project for us to build our sound car”, revealed Perlingeiro, remembering that the service is currently provided by one of the three best sound companies in the world, at a very high cost. However, he did not reveal the value.

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