Even at anything-goes Carnival, these lyrics raise eyebrows
SAO PAULO — The typical notion of Carnival in Brazil is that anything goes: no headdress too big, no outfit too small, no song too ribald. This year, some organizers of the world’s best known street party are saying: “Enough!” At least to the lyrics.
A growing number of “blocos” — a term Brazilians use to refer to Carnival street parties and the singing and dancing groups that organize them — are defying tradition and refusing to play a handful of songs that have lyrics considered sexist, homophobic or racist.
If you think Brazilians have met that with their trademark easygoing, live-and-let-live attitude, then you don’t know how seriously they take Carnival.
“Carnival is political,” said Debora Thome, one of the founders of the feminist bloco Mulheres Rodadas. “Carnival in Brazil reflects a lot of what we see in our day-to-day life.”