Autonomous Street Carnival Blocos and Reinventing Citizenship in Rio de Janeiro
Laurine Sézérat
Rio de Janeiro's street carnival, the milieu out of which HONK! Rio bands originally emerged, has grown immensely in recent years. As the festivities have attracted more and more revelers, the municipal government initiated in 2009 a process of control of the blocos and a privatization of the festivities. However, some blocos refused to follow this new regulation and continued to freely occupy the street. For the government, they became "pirate blocos” in opposition to the official street carnival. The modes of action of the blocos within this “unofficial” carnival are not homogenous. Beyond their varied musical repertoires and aesthetics, their political engagements differ. For some, carnival became a space for political reclamation and an opportunity to confront power. For others, the spontaneity of these unofficial blocos represents a resource to maintain a carnivalesque atmosphere that is free and emancipatory. Thus, these blocos are almost inherently opposed to the directives of the city’s authorities. Through the observation of these different blocos of unofficial street carnivals, I show how political practices are not always intentional and can simply be the result of spontaneous and autonomous resistance without articulated strategies. How are these informal politics constructed? How do they contribute to preserve the popular, spontaneous, and subversive character of Rio de Janeiro’s carnival? What influence do these experiences on the politics of HONK! Rio?
Laurine Sézérat is an urbanist and PhD student in urban sociology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the University of Paris 8. Her research explores the globalization of urban planning and its influence on micro-local scales.
Laurine Sézérat
Rio de Janeiro's street carnival, the milieu out of which HONK! Rio bands originally emerged, has grown immensely in recent years. As the festivities have attracted more and more revelers, the municipal government initiated in 2009 a process of control of the blocos and a privatization of the festivities. However, some blocos refused to follow this new regulation and continued to freely occupy the street. For the government, they became "pirate blocos” in opposition to the official street carnival. The modes of action of the blocos within this “unofficial” carnival are not homogenous. Beyond their varied musical repertoires and aesthetics, their political engagements differ. For some, carnival became a space for political reclamation and an opportunity to confront power. For others, the spontaneity of these unofficial blocos represents a resource to maintain a carnivalesque atmosphere that is free and emancipatory. Thus, these blocos are almost inherently opposed to the directives of the city’s authorities. Through the observation of these different blocos of unofficial street carnivals, I show how political practices are not always intentional and can simply be the result of spontaneous and autonomous resistance without articulated strategies. How are these informal politics constructed? How do they contribute to preserve the popular, spontaneous, and subversive character of Rio de Janeiro’s carnival? What influence do these experiences on the politics of HONK! Rio?
Laurine Sézérat is an urbanist and PhD student in urban sociology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the University of Paris 8. Her research explores the globalization of urban planning and its influence on micro-local scales.
