Carnival 2020 - Program yourself!

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Carnaval 2019. Bloco Afro Olodum. Campo Grande. Salvador Bahia. Foto Peu Fernandes.

This promises to be the biggest carnival ever!

Salvador revelry is culture, tradition, art and party, lots of party!

Carnaval 2019. Filhos de Gandhy. Pelourinho. Salvador Bahia. Foto: Peu Fernandes.

Salvador Carnival 2020 schedule is coming soon, but you better already start organizing to come, because it promises to be the biggest carnival ever. The official party start date is February 21, ending on Ash Wednesday, the 26th.

Bahia Carnival is the largest popular participation party in the world. In Salvador alone, the event attracts over 1 million tourists. In 2019, Salvador Carnival programming featured more than 200 attractions at the neighborhoods carnival and 700 performances on official circuits.

You can live many different experiences in one party. Go out one day on an Afro Block; the next day, go see the colorful carnival of the historic center; then, go after a trio elétrico – with rope or no rope, that’s up to you – and live a night of pure glamor enjoying the whole structure of a cabin. For you to know everything that happens in the city during this period, we have prepared this list with the main tips.

Where to stay

For outsiders, the ideal is to stay in neighborhoods close to the carnival circuits. The three main circuits are: Dodô (Barra-Ondina), Osmar (Campo Grande-Avenida Sete) and Batatinha (Historic Center). Through them, the trios elétricos, which are one of the main brands of the carnival, feature renowned national and even international artists. We have a list of excellent accommodations in the city at this link.

Onde ficar

Joy for all tastes

Carnaval 2019. Pipoco, com Léo Santana. Salvador Bahia. Foto Jefferson Peixoto. Secom.

Bahia Carnival is known for being a musical power, a grand celebration for many audiences. There are shows spread all over the city on stages, trios elétricos and inside the cabins. There are also decentralized and alternative carnival programs at Palco do Rock, Vila Infantil and the Neighborhoods Carnival, which takes place in Cajazeiras, Periperi, Itapuã, Liberdade, Boca do Rio, Plataforma and Pau da Lima, with free shows.

To enjoy the cabins and many of Salvador’s carnival blocks it’s necessary to pay, and to participate safely and comfortably, you need to buy an abadá – that colorful shirt that ensures you stay inside the block. There are also great attractions performing in the blocks with no rope, perfect for those who don’t want to spend a lot of money. In the Popcorn Carnival – the public who enjoy the carnival for free on the street, outside the cabins and the ropes of the blocks, is called popcorn – each year there are more performers singing on trios elétricos with no rope, attracting a very diverse crowd where everyone is popcorn!

The Afro Blocks

Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy. Campo Grande. Salvador Bahia. Carnaval de 2017. Foto: Fábio Marconi.

The Afro Blocks are the key point of Salvador Carnival. Coming to Salvador and not watching Ilê, the agogôs of Filhos de Gandhy, the irreverence of the Afro Parade and the tradition of Olodum is the same as not having come. It is through them that our carnival tells its story, they are the ones who have invented everything, all this joy. Try to find out more about Timbalada, the Malê Debalê, Didá, Os Negões, Muzenza. It’s chilling. The shirts for Carnival 2020 of many Afro Blocks are now on sale. It’s better to guarantee yours.

A beautiful revelry that tastes like old days

Carnaval 2019. Fuzuê. Salvador Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .

Who said Salvador Carnival is only about trios elétricos? The fanfares and wind bands, or “chupa-catarro”, again gained a lot of space in the Bahian revelry, especially in pre-Carnival, usually one week before the official date. It is FUZUÊ and Furdunço that, in the days before the official carnival, promote a carnival that tastes like old days. The fun is in Ondina, at the Orlando Tapajós Circuit (Ondina – Barra).

Fuzuê is a revelry with bands and folkloric groups that parade the Bahian recôncavo traditions, with the Mamulengo da Bahia dolls and the “terrible” masks of Caretas do Acupe, men dressed in scary papier-mache masks.

Soon after, comes the Furdunço, with the mood of the early trios elétricos, when the minitrios, trucks and artists parade as close as possible to the revelers. You can also see the classic Armandinho, Dodo and Osmar Fobica. Fuzuê usually happens from 4pm on, while Furdunço starts at 3pm.

Carnival in the Historic Center

Praça Municipal. Centro Histórico. Foto: divulgação

Did you know that in the Historical Center, more precisely in Pelourinho and Santo Antônio Além do Carmo, there is a pulsating and colorful carnival? The blocks and fanfares invade the hills of Pelourinho towards Carmo.

The Batatinha circuit (Pelourinho) is the most alternative circuit of Salvador Carnival. There are no electric trios and revelers enjoy the sound of marchinhas and little blocks. It is also in the Historic Center that happens the “Costumes Parade in the Municipal Square” and where there is the Multicultural Stage, with orchestras and samba, a loooot of samba. Enjoy the streets!

Carnival for Children

Carnaval 2019. Campo Grande. Salvador Bahia. Foto: Peu Fernandes.

The Kids Balls are very cute. The parties takes place in many parts of the city, they are open and free. Many of them have playful, recreational and sportive activities, trampoline, paint workshop and more. There are also blocks like Carla Perez’s, who leads the Algodão Doce Popcorn at Campo Grande – a block for the whole family.

Safety Tips

Always keep your documents in a “documents holder” or a fanny pack, preferably inside your clothes. Save documents, cell phones and money. Avoid entering streets other than the main ones. At the entrance of all circuits, there is a security personal search, there are almost 50 approach posts for manual searches around the city. Some of the forbidden objects in the party circuits are: firearms or similar, sharp metal or glass objects such as bottles and glasses.

We have prepared a list of perfect songs for this experience. Listen now!