Eternal grief in City of God: socio-environmental inequalities connecting the flood disasters of 1966 and 1996 in Rio de Janeiro

Image Analysis:

Two Rios in carnival 1996: “eternal grief” and “a bombardment of happiness”

This image analysis essay focuses on Rio’s official samba school carnival parade in 1996, which took place from February 16 to February 20 at the Sambadrome Marquês do Sapucaí. This report presents a brief contextualization of this event, followed by an analysis tracing the relationship of the carnival parade of 1996 with the flood disaster of that year. The two contrasting images analyzed here portray the tragedy and the indifference that surrounded that moment, as an analogy to the realities of different segments of the population, who live in different “Rios”. The first image is called “eternal grief” in allusion to the protest banner of samba school Mocidade Unida de Jacarepaguá, from the neighborhood Cidade de Deus. The second image demonstrates how some segments of Brazilian society were indifferent to the tragedy, including media portrayals of the carnival parade in its usual “greatest happiness,” or, as we see in the headline by Manchete magazine: “a bombardment of happiness.”[1]

Contextualization

The world-famous spectacle of Rio de Janeiro’s carnival is a multiple-day event held every year during the holiday, which tends to happen in February or early March. It takes place at the “sambadrome,” also known as “the samba runway,” a purpose-built stadium inaugurated in 1984 specifically to host the annual parade of samba schools. The stadium, shaped as a 2,300 ft alleyway, was developed with structures on both sides, to accommodate an audience of 70,000 people[2]. During the carnival festival every year, each samba school organizes a parade to be presented at the Sambadrome. The carnival parades work as a competition among samba schools, which are organized into a league: the “Special Group” (first division), Group A (second division, or “the Access Group”), Group B (third division), and so forth. Their performance is evaluated by an expert jury which grades a series of categories, defining the winner of carnival, as well as samba school positions in the league for the following year: who gets promoted or relegated. Samba schools in top divisions parade at the Sambadrome Marquês do Sapucaí, while schools in lower divisions parade in different locations of the city. The parades of the Special Group have been broadcasted in real time to a national audience by Globo TV, which detains the television rights to broadcast the event since 1965.

A large samba-school has around 3,000 performers participating in their parade, while smaller samba schools would have around 2,000. Although they are called “schools,” they are not organizations aimed at education or instruction. Each samba school operates more as a social club and is associated with a different community. They are traditionally from poorer neighborhoods, where the majority of the population is Afro-Brazilian. Every year, each samba school organizes their parade around a theme of their choice, which will be described in the “samba-plot,” a song composed specifically for that occasion, to be sung throughout the parade presentation while each section of the samba school passes through the Sambadrome in their colorful costumes. Usually, themes reflect on social inequalities, human creativity and inventiveness, or pay homage to people or peoples. Samba schools are deeply connected with a history of African cultural heritage preservation throughout time, and Afro-Brazilian resistance in spite (or in defiance) of injustice and authoritarianism.

The samba school carnival festival has been an important part of Rio de Janeiro’s (and Brazil’s) culture. For the city’s elite, however, the advantages of holding this yearly event go far beyond promoting leisure and cultural heritage. Rio’s carnival is an important source of revenue for the urban economy, as well as an important driver of tourism. For example, the municipality of Rio estimated that carnival 2025 would generate around USD 1 billion for the city’s economy.[3] Several industries profit from carnival. Media conglomerates, for example, count on the samba school competition as one important annual event, that generates significant advertising revenue, as this is broadcasted in real time to a national audience – the Brazilian equivalent of events such as the “Superbowl” in the U.S. The business side of carnival is possibly one of the reasons why the festival has become so important for the local elite. The City Hall provides funding for samba schools to prepare their parades, which can even generate temporary work opportunities for seamstresses, carpenters, welders, and other laborers among the samba school members.[4] Top-tier samba schools (such as the ones in the special group/first division) receive more funding and more opportunities.

In 1996, the spectacle took place from February 16 to 20 (3 to 7 days after the flood). In spite of the disastrous tragedy that happened in the same week of the carnival, the celebrations just went on – while the work to rescue victims and to count deaths was still ongoing in the city and in the state.

For this historical analysis, the report follows the news about samba schools that paraded in 1996. The main samba school presented by this essay was in the third division and therefore had to parade on February 16 (only 3 days after the flood): Mocidade Unida de Jacarepaguá (located at Cidade de Deus and representing the neighborhood in the carnival competition). The other samba schools mentioned in this essay were in the special group and paraded on February 18 and 19 (5-6 days after the flood): Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel (which received great media attention, as it was the winner of that year’s carnival) and Imperio Serrano (which had chosen to pay a homage to Betinho and his solidarity campaigns as their theme in 1996).

The Rio of tragedy: “eternal grief”

Mocidade Unida de Jacarepaguá, the samba school from Cidade de Deus, could not present their full parade that year. Instead, they made a symbolic parade of grief and protest. At that point, only three days after the beginning of the disaster, the final number of deaths in Cidade de Deus was still unknown, but the confirmed casualties were already counted by dozens. The majority of the performers was not able or not willing to participate in the samba school parade. Many of them had lost family and friends, and almost all of them were facing material losses. Their neighborhood had been the one most affected by the flood, and was significantly damaged. A school member told Jornal do Brasil “everybody is traumatized.”[5]  

The samba school, therefore, did not make their full presentation. Instead, they made a quasi-silent protest with a single bass drum playing while members walked the avenue crying. According to O Globo, no more than 100 out of the 2,000 members participated in the symbolic parade[6]. According to Jornal do Brasil, the group was just over 50 members, and the presentation lasted only about 20 minutes.[7] Manchete magazine, a social life news outlet, defined it as a “parade of bitterness” and explained that the samba school “lost significant part of its costumes, destroyed by the waters, and worse, 23 of its members – among them several children – dead in consequence of the flood. (…) The few members who could attend the presentation shared their pain and tears with the audience, who, in solidarity, clapped and also cried.”[8]

One of the samba school musicians from Cidade de Deus told Jornal do Brasil that their community was facing more than 200 deaths and was corrected by the newspaper: “it is estimated that the number of deaths may reach 200, but in the state as a whole.” The musician said he was confident the jury commission would understand that it was not possible to parade in those conditions, and therefore not relegate the school’s position in the league. The president of the Samba Schools Association, however, was less certain about that. Gustavo Diamante said “the regulation does not have a position about a situation like this.” According to Jornal do Brasil, the samba school Império da Tijuca had also presented a symbolic parade in 1966, due to the flood of that year, and was not punished for this.[9] The report from O Globo newspaper, however, was more discouraging, quoting these words by Diamante: “according to the regulation, the school would be automatically relegated, as it did not parade. (…) The situation will have to be analyzed as a separate case. We will have a meeting to discuss this issue.” The newspaper O Globo complemented that the attitude by the samba school directors (of protesting instead of parading) could lead to relegation. “As the school passed by Sapucaí with insufficient performers, no floats, no samba-plot, and practically no costumes – the club will not earn points for any of these categories” sentenced the newspaper, which belongs to the same media conglomerate as Globo TV, the long-time possessor of the rights for the live transmission of Rio’s carnival to a national audience.

“I think we should have the right not to parade” said one of the school’s members, who had lost two friends to the flood. The samba school president explained: “We wouldn’t be able to parade. We are here just to comply with the regulation.” The samba school’s drum corps master said “we are here to pay respect to the audience, who has been very solidary. Cidade de Deus is still shocked by what happened. Our carnival was over before it started.” The solidarity also came from another samba school, Independentes de Cordovil, which dedicated a minute of silence for the victims from Cidade de Deus as they prepared to enter the Sambadrome for their parade. The school’s president affirmed: “the authorities have to look to these needy people with more kindness.”[10]

Both O Globo newspaper and Manchete magazine displayed photographs of children in regular clothes, holding hands and crying while walking the samba runway during the symbolic protest-parade. Jornal do Brasil, like Globo TV, showed the banners the samba school had arranged for their presentation. The first banner said:

“Our quilombo is in mourning for the flood that hit Cidade de Deus. We lost members in the storm, but we have not lost respect for the people.”

Presentation from Mocidade Unida de Jacarepaguá on February 16, 1996. The banner reads “We are still counting the victims of the storm. Our ‘quilombo’. Eternal grief.” Image: screenshot of the documentary film “Enchente” (with video footage ceded by Globo TV).

The first image analyzed in this essay is a screenshot of Globo TV’s transmission, showing one of the banners, which reads:

“We are still counting the victims of the storm. Our ‘quilombo’. Eternal grief. GRES Mocidade Unida de Jacarepaguá.”

“Quilombo” is a word associated with autonomous ancestral communities of African origin formed during and after the slavery period in Brazil (maroon societies). The most famous quilombo in the history of Brazil was Quilombo dos Palmares, a community made of Afro-Brazilian people who had escaped slavery. This settlement lasted from 1605 to 1694, and hosted a population of thousands of inhabitants, with estimates ranging from 11,000 to 20,000. Palmares had its own government, with a form of political organization inspired by several Central African models. In 1996, the samba school from Cidade de Deus (Mocidade Unida de Jacarepaguá) was going to present a parade based on the theme “Quilombo dos Palmares, a black paradise,” had the flood not happened three days before carnival.  

Today, there are many quilombo communities in Brazil. The term is associated with territories of Afro-Brazilian resistance and autonomy, where black culture is preserved, and abolitionist practices are upheld. According to contemporary scholars, such as Guimarães[11] and Vaz,[12] Cidade de Deus can be understood not only as a predominantly black population, but as a black territory – where social-political relations are defined by a recognition of ancestral connections with Africa. From this perspective, it is possible to understand the word “quilombo” on the banner not only as a reference to the samba school’s theme for that year, but as a sign of abolitionist resistance, denouncing the structural racism in Brazilian society. On the first banner in their parade, the words “our quilombo is mourning” mean that the community identifies as a quilombo, a territory of black resistance. “We have lost members to the storm but we have not lost the respect for people” possibly refers to the lack of respect and indifference given by the authorities to the people from Cidade de Deus.

In the report by O Globo, the newspaper mentions “the school from Cidade de Deus dressed grief for the people who died in consequence of the rains.” The image, however shows people dressed in white, instead of the usual black color used for funerals in European/Western traditions. The reason for this is the meaning of white clothing in Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Candomblé. In these traditions, funeral ceremonies usually have participants dressed in white, a color that symbolizes life and death, beginning and end. The words “our quilombo is mourning” and the Candomblé clothing to symbolize grief clearly signal a perspective based on Afro-Brazilian resistance during the protest. “Eternal grief” certainly refers to the grief caused by the flood tragedy, but it may as well refer to the grief caused historically by violence against black people.

The Rio of indifference: “a bombardment of happiness”

The second image analyzed by this essay is from Manchete, a weekly magazine from Rio de Janeiro that centered on social life and local celebrities. This report focused exclusively on the issue of February 24, 1996, which was published 11 days after the flood and 8 days after the presentation from Mocidade Unida de Jacarepaguá, depicted above.

The image is a two-page introduction to the carnival coverage, which was the topic for the entire issue – featuring all samba schools in the Special Group in Rio, as well as carnival festivals, balls, and parties held in Rio de Janeiro and a few other cities. It depicts a picture of carnival winner Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel’s parade with the headline: “Samba schools / A bombardment of happiness.” Below, a box with an additional picture of the same parade and an introductory text about the carnival of 1996.

Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel is the winner of carnival 1996 with the samba-plot “Creator and Creature,” which celebrates human inventiveness (but warning that it can be used for good or evil, for peace or for war) with the lyrics:

A mão que faz a bomba, faz o samba / The hand that makes the bomb, makes the samba

Deus faz gente bamba / God makes “bamba” people (people who dance)

A bomba que explode nesse carnaval / The bomb that explodes in this carnival

É a Mocidade levantando o seu astral / Is Mocidade lifiting your spirits

Inspired by these lyrics, Manchete magazine created the headline “A bombardment of happiness” to open the coverage of carnival 1996 in the magazine. That would be a regular way of reporting carnival, however, a disaster had happened in that same city and state days before, with an estimate death count of 200 people. The magazine could not publish the carnival coverage without acknowledging it. The solution was to write an introductory text (on the box, below the small picture) explaining the awkward celebration amidst the tragedy:

“There is something new about Rio’s carnival. Maybe it’s the sophisticated themes that the carnival artists offer the public on the Samba Runway. Maybe it’s just the desire for happiness from a Rio de Janeiro devastated by the rains of the last few weeks and tired of suffering and crying. Whatever the reason, the public and the samba dancers enjoyed anthological nights, which culminated in the parade of the Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel and the ‘high-spirited bomb’ sung by their samba. In the greatest happiness.”

Headline “A bombardment of happiness” on Manchete magazine from February 24, 1996 (11 days after the flood). The picture shows the colorful samba school presentation by that year’s carnival competition winner, Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel. The presentation shown in the picture had happened on February 18 (5 days after the flood). Image: Manchete magazine, February 24, 1996 (source: Hemeroteca Digital Brasileira).

END NOTES

[1] Manchete magazine, February 24, 1996. p. 5-6.

[2] The Sambadrome is a “purpose-built stadium constructed specially to host the annual parade of Samba Schools each year during the festival of Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (…) The Rio de Janeiro Sambadrome is comprised of free-standing individual structures for spectator viewing, called sectors, which sit on both sides of a long alleyway down which the Samba Schools parade.”

Source: Sambadrome.com. “About Sambódromo.” Access: May 10, 2025. https://www.sambadrome.com/rio-carnival-sambodromo/  

[3] Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro, February 27, 2025. https://en.prefeitura.rio/desenvolvimento-economico/carnaval-2025-vai-movimentar-r-57-bilhoes-na-economia-da-cidade-segundo-estimativa-da-prefeitura/

[4] The Associated Press, March 2, 2025. https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/a-samba-school-rises-to-rio-carnivals-top-league-bringing-an-economic-boom-to-its-poor-residents/

[5] Jornal do Brasil, February 18, 1996, p. 24

[6] O Globo, February 18, 1996, p. 13

[7] Jornal do Brasil, February 18, 1996, p. 24

[8] Manchete, February 24, 1996, p. 42

[9] Jornal do Brasil, February 18, 1996, p. 24

[10] O Globo, February 18, 1996, p. 13

[11] Guimarães, A. F. da S. (2024). TERRITÓRIOS E TERRITORIALIDADES NEGRAS NA CIDADE DE DEUS [Thesis, Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso do curso de Especialização Planejamento e Uso do Solo Urbano]. https://pantheon.ufrj.br/handle/11422/24702

[12] Vaz, P. (2018). FAVELA CITY OF GOD(DESSES): FROM A PLACE OF NECESSITY TO A SPACE OF POLITICS [Dissertation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]. https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/dissertations/m900nt659

Data Analysis: