Musical difference, competition, and conflict: the maracatu groups in the Pernambuco carnival, Brazil.

I. Introduction

When speaking of Brazilian carnival one is immediately reminded of the famous carnivals in Rio de Janeiro or Salvador (Bahia). Much less is known abroad about another, most varied and interesting carnival festival: the traditional carnival in the Federal State of Pernambuco, in Northeast Brazil. Unlike the festivities in Rio de Janeiro or Bahia, with their very own repertoire of sambas and blocos afro, carnival as celebrated in Pernambuco includes almost the whole of the music and dance spectrum of the northeast region of Brazil.

Recife and Olinda are the two main cities where Pernambuco's carnival celebration takes place. With a population of about 2.5 million inhabitants, Recife is the most important economic center in the Northeast region. Olinda is historically the seat of the former Governor of Pernambuco; its old city with its numerous Baroque churches and monasteries was declared in the 1980s by UNESCO to be part of the cultural heritage of mankind ("Patrimonio da Humanidade").

Two important forms of local institutions determine the carnival of Pernambuco:

1. the agremiacoes carnavalescas, i.e., more than 400 popular associations in Recife and Olinda, which present their own repertoire of music, dance, and dramatic performances, and

2. the official institutions, i.e., the public authorities like the Carnival Federation (Federacao Carnavalesca), etc., that regulate the carnival and are responsible for the competition parade at the city center of Recife.

Whereas the former, the agremiacoes, are integrated in the local community, the latter exist within the public and political spheres. The variety of relationships which in this connection arch between the government and the community are decisive in the way in which carnival functions in Pernambuco.