Carnival is Culture - by Milton Cunha

Rio de Janeiro, parade of schools in the special group. When the siren sounds and the gate opens, each group has 82 minutes to cross the Sambadrome. But, for the members on the avenue, the dream come true is even more ephemeral: just 30 minutes on the catwalk for the school to complete its evolution in Marquês de Sapucaí without delay. Fun is what equalizes humanity, says the author. The anonymous girl from the community transformed into a majestic dancer, the housewife twirling in the reverent Bahian costume, the celebrity already famous in the media all year round: there they are all actor-revelers who, jokingly, act out, samba and sing a story analyzed by a rigorous jury spread out in booths. Carnival artist Milton Cunha recorded the behind-the-scenes of twenty years of his parades, opened his personal trunk and that of newspaper clippings and conceived Carnival is culture: poetics and technique in making a samba school. He selected more than 500 images that, in addition to capturing the moments of delirium on the avenue, reveal the work ten months before in the sheds, on the courts, in rehearsals: how the following year's parade is thought, planned and executed, how the materials are reused, as the festival generates work and develops artisans.