National Samba Day in Brazil

Yesterday (December 2) marked the anniversary of Ary Barroso's historic visit to Salvador, Bahia.  The great Brazilian composer from Minas Gerais had written songs about the Northeast Brazilian state but had never visited before.  The city of Salvador commemorated his visit -- which occurred long after he'd created some of his most famous compositions -- with a local holiday in honor of samba that eventually spread to the rest of the country.  In Salvador it's an excuse for a huge street party in the Upper City -- notably Pelorinho -- and in Rio, there's the "trêm do samba", where for a couple of days hundreds of percussionists, pagode musicians, and enthusiasts ride the trains in a journey that takes about three hours, playing and singing along the way.  The train makes stops in places important to samba history, and there are performances by many of Rio's greatest samba legends, and by representatives of many samba schools' "old guard" players, both onboard and off.  This year, according to O Globo news, four trains were set aside for music and festivities, and thirty-two train cars.

Thirty-two train cars can hold an awful lot of people.  Check out this video -- shot last week -- of the "Bloco dos Cachaças".  My fellow New Yorkers will likely be tickled by the combination of a familiar sight -- a suburban commuter train -- and a flood of partying the likes of which would never be seen here, even on Halloween.  Monolingual English speakers:  Don't be put off by the Portuguese; the reporter's introduction is brief, and the rest of the video stands on its own.