History and Chronology of the Carnival of Salvador de Bahia

.There are several versions about the origin of the word Carnival.

In the Milanese dialect, Carnevale means “the time when the use of meat is taken away”, since Carnival is properly the night before Ash Wednesday.

In Brazil, the event is the biggest manifestation of popular culture, next to football.

It is a mixture of revelry, celebration and theatrical spectacle, involving art and folklore.

In its origin, it appears basically as a street party. However, in most major capitals, it ends up being concentrated indoors, such as sambodromes and clubs.

Although Carnival was only made official in 1884, there are reports of celebrations since the 16th and 17th centuries, including during the Dutch invasion in 1624.

Carnaval de Salvador, which counts from 1884, which is when it was made official. But I went back a bit. So I start by showing Father Anchieta’s account of carnival, the Jesuits, who were the first people who brought the culture of carnival to Bahia. There is also the account of a soldier during the Dutch invasion, in 1624, who tells how carnival was when we were at war, that the party was held on four ships”.

The festivities were mirrored in the carnival held in Europe, mainly in countries like Portugal and Spain, and were related to the Catholic Church.

“Carnival was instituted by the Catholic Church as a period to precede Lent so that people could extravasate everything they wanted and then enter the 40-day retreat.

The Jesuits brought this culture and introduced it among the indigenous communities as part of catechesis, because they understood that it was interesting to bring a little music, a little of that more playful thing”.

Between the 18th and 19th centuries, Carnival became more popular and took over the streets of the capital of Bahia.

The festivities usually took place in Rua Chile, in the centre of Salvador. “As there were many slaves, they brought their dances, some ritual elements that ended up being incorporated into the street carnival. This all came together with what was called entrudo”.

História do Carnaval no Brasil06:23

Carnaval de Veneza03:48

Origens e evolução do Carnaval no Rio de Janeiro05:58

Carnaval de Salvador BA 193909:56

History, Origin and Chronology of Carnival

Origin of Carnival

The origin of Carnival comes from a popular manifestation prior to the Christian era, having started in Italy under the name of Saturnalia – a festival in honour of Saturn.

The deities of Greco-Roman mythology Bacchus and Momus shared the honours at the festivities, which took place in November and December.

During the celebrations in Rome, there was an apparent breakdown of society’s hierarchy, as slaves, philosophers and tribunes mingled in the public square.

As the Roman Empire expanded, the celebrations became more lively and frequent. At the time real bacchanals took place.

The Italians then adopted the word Carnevale, suggesting that one could have Carnival – “or whatever passed through their heads” before Lent, in a kind of abuse of the flesh.

The festival arrived in Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries, receiving the name Entrudo – that is, introduction to Lent, through an aggressive and heavy joke.

The event had an essentially gastronomic character and was marked by fun interspersed with some violence. Very thin wax spheres were made with the inside filled with eau de vie and then thrown at people.

In the second half of the 19th century, the newspaper Diário da Bahia and the Catholic Church criticised and asked the police authorities to take action against Entrudo.

When the Sunday before Lent approached, everyone “entruded”. The “Caretas” appeared in the streets in flocks, wrapped in blankets, catolé mats, tree leaves and abadás – a kind of short-sleeved shirt that was quite loose, reaching the curve of the knees, which black people wore.

In 1853, Entrudo was repressed with police orders. Even so, the “oranges” and troughs with water continued to exist.

Entrudos is one of the elements of the beginning of Salvador’s carnival.

Entrudos was a game of European origin in which people threw objects at each other. “They made wax lemons and put water or some kind of cinnamon or clove perfume inside, and threw them at people.

In fact, there were two types of entrudos, the parlour and the street. The one in the parlour was more refined, with lemons. The street one was made with pure water, with pork intestines, flour, egg, poor tomatoes. It was more popular and vulgar.”

Because of the disturbances caused by the entrudos, the government began to repress and ban the game. A decree by the Salvador City Council ended the practice.

“It is done to reproduce, for the greater knowledge of all the inhabitants of this municipality, the posture that absolutely prohibits the entrudo because it is harmful to public health, dangerous to those who indulge in it and to the transeuntos”, says an excerpt from the decree published at that time.

It was exactly in this period that Carnival began to originate differently, dividing itself into two classes: the Carnival of Hall and the Carnival of Street.

The Saloon Carnival was attended by middle-class whites and mulattos; the Street Carnival was attended by poor blacks and mulattos.

Castro Alves Square, São João Theatre and Chile Street in Salvador da Bahia

.In 1860, the São João Theatre in Salvador da Bahia began to hold bold masked balls on Saturday night, starting the parties with music based on excerpts from the Italian opera “La Traviata”. This was followed by waltzes, polkas and quadrilles.

The São João Theatre, in Salvador (BA), was situated in Praça Castro Alves, end of Av. Sete and beginning of Rua Chile. It was built in 1806, during the government of João Saldanha da Gama Melo Torres, according to a plan instituted by the Marques de Pombal and for more than a hundred years it was the main stage of the city, with a capacity for 800 seats. In 1913 it was totally destroyed by a fire.

The event was attended by people of good social standing, who exchanged the dances held in their homes for the theatre.

At the time, there was a danger that the educated man and the businessman would be seen masked. For this reason, costume houses and hairdressers, such as the famous “Pinelli” and “Balalaia”, specialised in disguises.

As carnival balls were not available to everyone, nor in keeping with the morals of many, it was necessary to encourage them to take to the streets. Therefore, sub-delegates were authorised to distribute masks free of charge to anyone who wanted to play Carnival.

Various committees were appointed by the chief of police and the central committee, together with other parish committees, distributed masks, facilitated the purchase of other props and provided a brass band.

Merchants soon embraced the idea with an eye on better sales, and began to adopt Carnival as a replacement for Entrudo.

The atmosphere for the Carnival became better with the appearance of the “Bando Anunciador”, which went out into the streets inviting everyone to the festivities.

In the clubs and theatres, competitions were held between groups and families who wore clothes and jewellery to show which associations and entities were more elegant and grand.

The pioneering São João Theatre began organising its balls a year in advance.

In 1878, the street carnival group, “Os Cavaleiros da Noite”, appeared for the first time in a large hall at the São João Theatre, causing a real “ti, ti, ti”. Two years later – with a greater number of dances throughout the city – Salvador had 120,000 inhabitants, who concentrated financial resources and great political power.

There was, therefore, money, power and plenty, and all this splendour was then portrayed in the halls and balls of Carnival. Just to give you an idea, the clothes, props, decorations, hats, drinks, jewellery, shoes and stockings used at the parties were imported from the best houses in Paris and London.

Five years before the Proclamation of the Republic, the city, inhabited by about 170,000 people, organised its first big street Carnival.

The carnival was a party with great European influence, like almost everything that existed in Brazil at that time, with luxury, refinement and laudatory comments.

Strongly influenced by the exquisite Carnival of Venice, Italy, and mixing the presence of types of the popular Carnival of Nice, France, the Carnival of Salvador took the first step towards popularisation with the participation of many people in the streets.

At the same time, stages and music bands proliferated in the city. Several uniformed clubs also appeared, such as “Zé Pereira”, “Os Comilões” and “Os Engenheiros”, dressed in “Cabeçorras” and other masks.

As the celebrations grew, it was agreed that Campo Grande would be the place for the masqueraders to gather on Carnival days and, from there, leave in flocks.

In 1882, commerce began the custom of closing its doors on Carnival Tuesday, starting at 1 pm. The masquerade carnival and the parade of the clubs then became more lively after 2pm.

Rio’s first Carnival ball was in 1840 with participants dancing polka and waltz, and samba was introduced in 1917;

Chronology of the Carnival of Salvador de Bahia

The Great Carnival of 1884

The year 1884 is considered as the decisive milestone for the Carnival of Bahia. Although the festival was already of considerable size – especially in the halls – it was in this year that the organisation of street festivities and the parades of clubs, corsos, floats and various popular parades began.

From then on there is the intensification of the participation of the people and the acclamation of the street Carnival, which until today characterises this party in Bahia.

The Carnival of 1884 caught Salvador in a period of rapid growth, caused by the progress of agriculture in other regions and the demands for a better organisation of the urban space with the rural exodus.

Progress was being breathed and traders were already using newspaper advertising during the festival. Both the people who dressed up and those who waited for the procession were dressed to the nines, some in linen suits, gaiters and hats.

Founded on 1 March 1833, the Red Cross Carnival Club did not participate in Carnival until 1884.

The club organised a procession of richly dressed young men and women and the novelty was the presence of a float, with the theme “Criticism of the Lottery Game”, richly decorated with pieces imported from Europe.

The procession left one of the streets of Comércio, went up the Mountain, passed in front of Barroquinha, Direita do Palácio (Chile Street), Direita da Misericórdia, Direita do Colégio and returned to Politeama de Baixo (Women’s Institute).

The initiative was a real success and won thousands of applauses and flower petals from the people who were in the streets. The Red Cross basically changed Carnival.

In March 1884, a group of young people founded the Carnival Club Fantoches da Euterpe.

The group was headed by four high society figures: Antônio Carlos Magalhães Costa (ACM’s great-grandfather), João Vaz Agostinho, Francisco Saraiva and Luís Tarquínio (its first president).

The Diário de Notícias, the most influential newspaper of the time, published a quarter-page advert, at the request of the Cruz Vermelha, describing their march.

The Fantoches reacted by publishing their party programme in three columns.

Both took to the streets with marvellous themes and costumes from Europe.

The Red Cross’s flagship featured “Fame” and the Fantoches’ “Europe”. Other clubs also paraded, such as “Saca Rolhas”, “Cavalheiros de Malta”, “Clube dos Cacetes” and “Grupo dos Nenês”.

At the time, there was no judging commission to establish who won the parades and the judgement was determined by the press, which measured the approval of the population through applause.

The Red Cross, the most popular, always won, because the Fantoches, more linked to the aristocracy, had a much smaller fan base. All the other organisations represented the middle classes.

In 1886, the merchants decided not to open their shops on Carnival Tuesday. The presidents of the big clubs met at the Commercial Association with the aim of studying a single itinerary for all the festivals.

Two years later, the city had one of its most famous carnivals. The Red Cross and the Fantoches jointly gave a grand ball at the Politeama. Finally, the day of the great Carnival Sunday arrived.

There were many people in the streets; in the windows, the city was filled with anxiety. The first parade to appear was the Red Cross with coordination, splendour and luxury.

The crowds cheered as they threw flowers at the cars.

The second to parade was the Fantoches parade, with its magnificent decoration of the floats, grace, luxury and artistic taste, which justified the delirium of all. The result: Fantoches and the Red Cross parading through showers of roses.

Carnival was already a real attraction, a reality achieved with a lot of struggle and years of hope, and it could already be said that it had definitively defeated Entrudo.

First Afoxé

In 1895, the black nagôs organised the first afoxé, called “African Embassy”, which paraded with clothes and adornment objects imported from Africa.

Nine years later, another afoxé broke this tacit commitment and went up to Barroquinha and Ladeira de São Bento, generating protests in which the breaking of this unwritten pact of the spatial division of classes and rhythms in Carnival was lamented.

At this time, there was a very serious spatial division in the city.

Dissidents of the Red Cross, founded in 1900, the Carnival Club “Os Inocentes em Progresso”. The name of the club was inspired by a gang of boys who passed through the place singing and playing on cans.

In 1949, the year of the IV Centenary of the foundation of the city of Salvador, the afoxé “Filhos de Gandhy” is founded by the dockworkers of the Port of Salvador, as a way of honouring the great Indian pacifist leader murdered in 1948, Mahatma Gandhy.

The Trio Elétrico emerges

In 1950, the famous electric duo emerged.

Replica of the Ford 1929 made in 1975 to celebrate salvador's first trio eletrico car created by dodo and osmar in 1950. — Replica of the Ford 1929 made in 1975 to celebrate salvador’s first trio eletrico car created by dodo and osmar in 1950.

After observing the parade of the famous “Vassourinha”, a carnival entity from Pernambuco that played frevo on Rua Chile, and excited by the receptivity of the bloco with the public, the electric duo formed by Adolfo Antônio Nascimento – Dodô and Osmar – Álvares de Macêdo and Osmar – decided to restore an old 1929 Ford, stored in a garage.

At Carnival that same year, they took to the streets playing their “electric sticks” on top of the car and with the sound amplified by loudspeakers.

The performance took place at five o’clock in the afternoon on Carnival Sunday, dragging a crowd through the streets of the city centre.

The name trio elétrico appeared in 1951, when, for the first time, an ensemble of three instrumentalists performed at Carnival.

The “electric duo” invited their friend and musician Temístocles Aragão to join the trio and play in the streets of Salvador in a Chrysler pick-up truck, model Fargo, larger than the “fobica” of the previous year, on the sides of which two signs read: “O trio elétrico”.

Osmar played the famous “guitarra baiana”, with a high-pitched sound; Dodô was responsible for the “violão-pau-elétrico”, with a low sound, and Aragão, for the “triolim”, as the tenor guitar was known, with a medium sound. The musical trio was formed.

The following year, the first large Carnival block, called “Os Internacionais”, appeared, composed only of men.

At this time, a new electric trio was popping up all the time, but the blocos would only take to the streets accompanied by drums or percussion groups.

This was also when the famous ropes and shrouds for playing Carnival appeared.

In 1965 by presidential decree the manufacture, commercialisation and use of the lança-perfume, introduced in our Carnival since 1906, imported initially from France and then from Argentina, is prohibited.

Carnival in the 70s

The 70s made the apogee of Salvador’s Carnival the Castro Alves Square, where all the people met and allowed themselves to do everything. It was the time of cultural, social and sexual liberation.

Until this time, trios elétricos were more allegorical vehicles, ornamented almost exclusively with sedan mouths of loudspeakers.

The amplifiers were made with valves and, on top of the trio, there were only musicians with the Bahian guitar, the bass and the guitar, and there was still no vocalist.

Still in the 70s, Morais Moreira gave voice to the trio, singing Pombo Correio and the “Novos Baianos” dared and put some speakers in the trio, besides transistorised equipment.

Baby Consuelo appeared singing with a microphone connected to a guitar cable.

The carnival composition “Colombina”, by Armando Sá and Miquel Brito, is officially recognised as the anthem of Salvador’s Carnival.

As if so many changes were not enough, an even more radical one occurred in Carnival 74, with the emergence of the “Afro Ilê Aiyê” block.

The entity that began the process of re-Africanisation of the festival contributed to the appearance of the afoxé “Badauê” and the revival of the afoxé “Filhos de Gandhy”.

It was the beginning of the cultural growth of Salvador’s Carnival; which began to emphasise conflicts and protest against racism.

celebrated its silver jubilee and returned definitively to the carnival scene after a period of 14 years away.

The trio returned with a new line-up including musician Armandinho, Osmar’s son, and changed its name to “Trio Elétrico de Armandinho, Dodô e Osmar”.

In 1976, the electric trio “Novos Baianos” appeared, introducing along with the “Trio de Armandinho”, the Bahian swing.

In 1977, the samba schools that participated in the Salvador Carnival stopped parading.

Although the blocos de trio had emerged at the beginning of the decade, it was in 1978 that the “Camaleão” began to overcome the amateurism prevailing among the first blocos de trio, representing a milestone in their emergence at Salvador Carnival.

It was in this same year that the use of the mask, once the joy and grace of revellers, began to disappear.

An indispensable adornment to complement Carnival costumes, the mask, which in our conviviality became better known as careta, also served to hide the shame of an euphoric face from known and indiscreet glances.

In 1979, the meeting between afoxé and the trio elétrico took place, with the appearance of the song “Assim pintou Moçambique”, by Moraes Moreira and Antônio Risério, thus triggering the whole process of the “electrified” afoxé of current Bahian music.

Carnival in the 1980s

In the early 1980s, the transformation of the Carnival of Salvador intensified even more and it was up to the “Traz Os Montes” block to introduce some innovations, such as the assembly of an electric trio with transistorised equipment, installation of air conditioning to cool and maintain the equipment at a bearable temperature, removal of the loudspeaker mouths, installation of rectangular speakers, elimination of the traditional percussion that was on the sides of the trio and insertion of a band with drums, singer and other musicians on top of the truck.

In 1981, the Eva block, which had emerged in 1980 and was considered one of the most irreverent and innovative entities of Carnival, decided to radicalise even more than “Traz Os Montes” and hired engineers to sign the structural calculation of the new trio and the entire sound system that it imported from the United States (such as a new soundboard and various peripherals necessary for the perfect functioning of the trio and the band). This forced the other blocos to invest in their trios as well.

The public and critics began to clearly notice the striking difference between their equipment and the others, as well as the quality of the singers and bands.

In the same year, the governor of Bahia signed Decree No. 27,811, which ordered the suspension of work in public offices on the Friday of the week before Carnival.

A year later, there were so many people on the streets of Salvador that the traditional regulars of Praça Castro Alves (intellectuals, liberal professionals and transvestites) were irritated by the invasion of the traditional liberal stronghold. This year, the shroud began to disappear as carnival attire, with shorts, shorts or overalls as an option.

In 1988, for the first time, a large Afro bloco, the Olodum, paraded in Barra. The year of the commemoration alluded to the centenary of the abolition of slavery in Brazil, whose theme was “Bahia de Todas as Áfricas”.

Barra-Ondina carnival circuit

The glamorous sea circuit, later baptised as Dodô – Barra-Ondina – was made official in 1992 and today is one of the most effervescent points of Salvador’s Carnival. This is where most of the cabins are located, a new invention of this party that has been transforming over the years.

From the Entrudo to the two-club parades and Corsos, to the arrival of Afro-Brazilian influence, at first with the Afoxés; and the discovery of the Bahian guitar, which generated the Trios Elétricos.

With the trios, the explosion of the greatest popular manifestation on the planet – the Carnival of Salvador – multiplies rhythms and beats and consecrates saba-reggae and axé music, producing thousands of musicians and artists who work tirelessly to surprise the millions of revellers who disembark in the Capital of Joy, coming from all corners of Brazil and the world to live this magical way of being happy.

Chronology of the Trio Elétrico in Salvador de Bahia

“The Trio Elétrico, with its anthropophagic sound, carnavalises everything. From the most classic popular, to the most popular classics.”

Decade of 30

There was a musical group in Salvador, created by Dorival Caymmi, which animated some parties and weekend gatherings, and which performed on radio stations.

The group Três e Meio (Three and a Half) began to be successful in Bahia, whose members were Caymmi himself, Alberto Costa, Zezinho Rodrigues and Adolfo Nascimento – Dodô. In 1938, with the departure of Caymmi, the group was restructured and now has seven members, including Osmar Macêdo.

1942

In a presentation in the city of Salvador, the classical guitarist Benedito Chaves (RJ) showed the local public an “electrified guitar” for the first time.

Dodô and Osmar, eager to get to know this instrument, went to watch the show at the Guarani cinema and were extremely enthusiastic.

Although it was a common guitar, imported and with a pickup inserted in its mouth, the instrument was very primitive and had microphonia.

Dodô, however, tireless in his quest to overcome this problem, built in a few days a guitar just like Benedito Chaves’ for himself, and a cavaquinho for Osmar.

Although the microphony persisted, the two joined forces once again to form the “Dupla Elétrica” and began to perform in various places.

One day, Dodô decided to stretch a guitar string over his workbench and attach it to the ends; under the string, he placed a microphone attached to the bench.

When the pair switched on the microphone, something unbelievable happened – a clear sound, even like a bell. The principle was then discovered and it was soon possible to realise that the “solid wire” prevented the phenomenon of microphonics – and so, with the name of electric stick, the Bahian guitar was born.

1943/49

The electric duo then began to play in clubs, parties and dances, with their own instruments.

1950

On the Wednesday before Carnival, the famous “Clube Carnavalesco Vassourinhas do Recife”, with 150 components, performed in Salvador with brass, some wood and little percussion.

On the morning of the day after the Pernambucans’ performance, Dodô and Osmar began work on the project to build what would become the “trio tlétrico”.

Osmar, who owned a mechanic’s shop, took a 1929 Ford, known as “Fobica”, out of the shed and began the decoration process by painting several coloured circles all over the vehicle as if they were confetti and made two guitar-shaped plywood signs with the words “Dupla Elétrica”.

Dodô, who had a background in radio technology, decided to set up a “fountain” which, connected to the current of a car battery, would supply the load for the operation of the speakers installed in the fobica (where they would perform with their “Paus Elétricos”).

In the middle of Carnival Sunday, the duo went up the mountainside towards Praça Castro Alves and Rua Chile, around 4pm, and drew thousands of people. Dodô and Osmar, on top of the decorated and electronically equipped phobic, thus made their first appearance as the inventors of the trio elétrico.

1951

The duo decided to invite their friend and musician Temístocles Aragão to form what would be called a trio elétrico. The name gained fame, making people listen to the electrifying sound and say: “Here comes the trio elétrico”.

1952

The “Fratelli Vita” soft drinks factory decided to sponsor Dodô and Osmar’s trio elétrico and the duo abandoned the old fobica and moved on to a large vehicle, placing eight loudspeakers in it, electric current from generators and lighting with fluorescent lamps.

The sponsorship continued until 1957 – a time when Dodô and Osmar’s trio elétrico performed in the central streets of Salvador and animated off-season carnivals in the interior of the state.

1953/58

New electric trios appeared, playing on top of vans such as Ypiranga, Cinco Irmãos, Conjunto Atlas, Jacaré (later called Saborosa) and Paturi (Feira de Santana/BA.).

1956

The musical group Tapajós appears (mounted on a truck), the first follower and largely responsible for the fact that the trio elétrico, as a physical structure, has remained and expanded as a carnival phenomenon.

1957

The Tapajós electric trio animates Carnival in the Railway Suburb.

1958

The electric trio Dodô and Osmar won the sponsorship of the Municipality of Salvador.

1959

At the invitation of the governor of Pernambuco, the Trio Elétrico of Dodô and Osmar left Bahia for the first time to play at the Recife Carnival, under the sponsorship of “Coca-Cola”.

1960

The Tapajós electric trio buys one of its bodies from Dodô and Osmar.

1961

Dodô and Osmar’s trio elétrico stops participating in Carnival due to the death of Osmar’s father-in-law, Armando Costa, the group’s greatest supporter.

Tapajós signed the first commercial contract with Coca-Cola to animate the micaretas in the cities of Feira de Santana, Pojuca, Catu and Alagoinhas.

1962

Carnival once again did not have the participation of the trio of Dodô and Osmar; on the other hand, it saw the debut of Tapajós, parading through the central streets of the City.

1963

With the sponsorship of the Mataripe Refinery, Dodô and Osmar’s trio once again took part in Salvador’s Carnival: it was a float, mounted on a cart.

Armandinho, only nine years old, was already the soloist of the trio. In the competition for electric trios promoted by the City Hall, the winner was the Tapajós trio, with a new all-metal body.

1964

Osmar decided to build a miniature electric trio in a Ford F-1000 pick-up truck. The contraption was intended for his and Dodô’s children, who were all no more than 12 years old.

The Tapajós electric trio animated the Carnival of Recife (PE) under the sponsorship of Coca-Cola and the Department of Tourism of Recife.

1965

The mini-trio of Armadinho and Betinho once again led the Carnival of Salvador. The Tapajós electric trio becomes champion.

1966

The Tapajós electric trio was acclaimed two-time champion.

1967

Tapajós was consecrated three times champion of the Carnival of Salvador, in a contest promoted by the City Hall.

1969

Caetano Veloso released the song “Atrás do Trio Elétrico Só Não Vai Quem Já Morreu”.

The Tapajós trio launched the first disc recorded by an electric trio on the phonographic market and went to Rio de Janeiro to reinforce the national launch of the song.

Within a week, the song went from seventh to second place in the charts and was featured on the television programme “A Grande Chance”.

1972

A historic meeting at Praça Castro Alves took place between Osmar – who was playing in the trio elétrico Caetanave – and Armandinho, who was performing on top of the trio Saborosa, doing “Desafilho”.

Tapajós honoured Caetano Veloso, on his return from exile in London, with the launch of the “Caetanave”, a trio with bold architectural lines, a true work of art that, with due proportion to the times, has not been surpassed to this day.

In the streets, the public could enjoy the Bahians Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa on top of the trio.

The Marajós electric trio appears.

1973

The Tapajós trio animated the Carnival of the city of Curitiba.

1974

After a long absence, the duo Dodô and Osmar returned to Carnival with a new formation – “Trio Elétrico Armandinho, Dodô e Osmar”.

On that occasion, they recorded a disc under the title “Jubileu de Prata” (Silver Jubilee), commemorating the 25th anniversary of the creation of the trio. Tapajós – who had recorded six LP’s and two compactos – went to animate the Carnival of Belo Horizonte.

1975

After its debut in 1950, the fobica returned to the streets to celebrate the trio elétrico’s Silver Jubilee. A big party was organised to honour its inventors, including a parade of several trios elétricos pulled by Dodô and Osmar.

Specially assembled and decorated for the parade, the trios left Campo Grande and arrived at Praça Castro Alves, where they jointly performed “Happy Birthday to You”. Afterwards, the duo received the trophy commemorating the jubilee for the creation of the “joy-generating machine”.

In apotheotic tributes, the famous duo Dodô and Osmar bid an instrumental farewell to Carnival.

The Souza Cruz company hired two Tapajós trios for the city of Rio de Janeiro.

1976

Tapajós animated the carnivals of Salvador, Belo Horizonte and Santos.

Then the company Tapajós Promoções Artísticas e Publicidade Ltda. was created.

During a concert at the Concha Acústica in Salvador, Armandinho launched another gadget designed by Dodô: a two-armed guitar, baptised Dodô and Osmar.

The Novos Baianos’ trio elétrico appeared on the streets of Salvador for the first time, causing a real revolution in the music scene.

The sound system of the trio changed completely, going from the traditional valve amplifiers and Sedam horns to speakers, twiters and Snak horns.

The musical language also changed, with the Novos Baianos singing songs from the popular repertoire. Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa and Maria Betânia got together and christened the group “Os Doces Bárbaros”.

1977

The Tapajós electric trio also animated Carnival in Brasilia.

Through the release of the song “Pombo Correio”, the trio elétrico Dodô e Osmar was specially decorated with a gigantic white bird affixed to the bow of the vehicle, which flapped its wings to the rhythm of the trio’s instrumental.

1978

One of the fathers of the trio elétrico, Adolfo Nascimento, the Dodô, died.

His burial was accompanied by the Tapajós trio, wrapped in a huge black band as a sign of mourning, performing Gounot’s Ave Maria and Choppin’s funeral march, as well as the Hymn to Senhor do Bonfim.

This year saw the marriage of the Afoxé sound with the trio elétrico, thanks to Moraes Moreira and his partner and poet Antônio Risério, with the release of the song “Assim Pintou Moçambique”.

1979

Three trolley buses belonging to the Tapajós company were hired by carnival organisations in Salvador.

At the party celebrating Esporte Clube Flamengo’s third championship, the Tapajós trio was hired to, to the sound of a frevo specially composed by Moraes Moreira, drag a real crowd of fans from Maracanã to Gávea, crossing almost the entire city of Rio de Janeiro.

1980

The Traz os Montes electric trio – actually the equipment of a carnival organisation – paraded through the streets of Salvador for the first time.

Traz os Montes, by the way, established itself as the trio that most introduced technical novelties to Carnival, possessing an extraordinarily powerful sound of excellent quality and innovating with all the transistorised equipment.

With a special arrangement by Armandinho, the composition “Beleza Pura”, by Caetano Veloso, was the song most performed by all the trios elétricos.

The city of Rio de Janeiro opened its momesca festivities with a confetti battle in Madureira, whose main attraction was the Tapajós trio elétrico.

In the city of Natal (RN), the presence of three electric trios at Carnival began to be observed, whose constructions had Osmar Macêdo as a consultant.

1981

The new trio of Armandinho, Dodô and Osmar had as its theme the song “Vassourinha Elétrica”, which, in a few weeks, became a sales success throughout the country. The Novos Baianos electric trio, led by the only female trio singer, Baby Consuelo.

1983

An electric trio built in Italy was inaugurated at the Pizza Navona in front of 80,000 people packed to the sound of Armandinho’s band, Dodô and Osmar trieletised the “Roman Empire”.

1985

Another electric trio was built in France to hold Carnival in Toulouse.

1986

The trio elétrico Armandinho, Dodô and Osmar went to the World Cup in Mexico and, on its return, went to France to travel through several towns on the French Riviera, ending in Lyon.

1988

The trio elétrico Espacial was created, with a revolving stage and automatic elevation.

1990

The trio elétrico turned 40 years old.

1992

Orlandinho, son of Orlando Campos, rescued the trio Caetanave and paid homage to his father, promoting in this Carnival the meeting of generations.

1997

The other father of the electric trio, Osmar Macêdo, died and had his burial carried out with a procession of electric trios passing in Castro Alves Square.

1998

A monument in honour of the duo Dodô and Osmar was inaugurated in Castro Alves Square. The fobica returned to the streets during Carnival in honour of Osmar.

1999

The percussionist Carlinhos Brown resumed the Caetanave project and brought a new equipment to the streets of Salvador.

2000

The fobica and its creators will once again be honoured in the year in which the trio elétrico celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Axé Music

Axé Music began with the sound coming from the drums of carnival entities of African origin in the mid-70s.

At that time, Bahia saw the emergence of the Afro bloco Ilê Ayiê and the Afoxé Badauê, and also followed the revival of the Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy – later, the Afro blocos Olodum and Muzenza came along.

The work of the afros and afoxés, with their rhythms, colours and drumming, was to have a huge influence on the artists who had grown up in the trios elétricos, who in the early 1980s were beginning to produce their own independent music.

Despite this, the success of the new musicians was limited to Bahia, thanks to the fundamental encouragement and partnership of the WR studio, Itapoan FM and TV Itapoan. Their time, however, would not fail to come…

In 1985, the song “Fricote” – composed by Paulinho Camafeu and performed by Luiz Caldas – exploded and broke down the barriers existing in the media of the South and Southeast of the country and made the genre called axé music conquer all of Brazil.

Caldas and the band Acordes Verdes opened the doors of the national recording industry to Bahian music. Axé music disrupted a solid structure and was responsible for the mixture of diverse musical and rhythmic styles, breaking concepts and prejudices in the way of making the public dance, dress, behave and be entertained.

Not to mention the economic boost it gave to the Bahian economy, through the release and sale of thousands of CDs, the attraction of tourists, the generation of direct and indirect jobs and the growth of Salvador’s Carnival.

The explosion of Bahian songs was also responsible for the reinsertion of Brazilian music on the country’s radio stations, since the programmes were filled only with North American hits.

It was also after the emergence of axé music that genuinely Brazilian musical styles appeared, such as sertanejo from the city of São Paulo, pagode from the city of Rio de Janeiro, lambada from Pará and pop from the city of Recife.

After its initial success, the genre continued to spread and gave rise to off-season carnivals in the four corners of Brazil, which are expanding every year.

Although many compositions have been released in these 20 years of axé music, we present the 20 most played hits in this trajectory. Sources: Jornal A Tarde, Press Office – Emtursa, W.R., Ricardo Chaves (singer and producer of the CD “Luiz Caldas e Convidados – 20 Anos de Axé”) and Journalist Osmar Martins.