Sou apaixonado pelos desfiles de carnaval desde que me conheço por gente. Me lembro de varar as madrugadas assistindo as escolas quando era criança. Na apuração, eu não só assistia com muita seriedade como anotava nota por nota em um caderno. Ainda tenho guardadas essas anotações — atualmente, na era da internet, inúteis.
Talvez esse amor tenha vindo através do vô Tatá, devoto da Portela até o último fio de cabelo. Escola a qual ele foi membro e período de sua vida que ele adorava contar com orgulho e eu adorava ouvir com o mesmo orgulho.
Ele me ensinou desde cedo que carnaval é a festa do povo. Feita durante um ano inteiro, com muita dedicação das comunidades que se unem pela festa. Um ano inteiro de trabalho e anonimato para, naquela noite, serem o centro do mundo por alguns minutos.
Arquibancadas cheias, luzes acesas, frisas lotadas, camarotes transbordando. Que momento lindo para quem ralou meses para colocar aquela escola desfilando na avenida. Um palco merecido para cada integrante se sentir brilhando.
É bonito demais ver de perto. Me emociono praticamente em todo desfile. Aos 18 anos, fiz minha primeira cobertura na Sapucaí, para a histórica Revista Manchete, e o sentimento de pisar na avenida é o mesmo até hoje, 10 anos depois.
Em 2018, fui pautado pelo site UOL para cobrir a dispersão durante as duas noites de desfile e para cobrir três escolas desfilando no sábado das campeãs. Desse trabalho, nasceram quatro séries fotográficas onde tento traduzir em imagens o meu amor por essa festa.
As a carioca, I love the carnival parade since I was born. I remember being awake during all the night watching the parade on TV when I was a kid. It’s the most popular party in Brazil and the culture of samba was born in Rio, so the parades are very traditional specially here in Rio.
Maybe this love came from my grandfather, who was a member of Portela, one of the most popular samba schools in Rio. He really liked to tell the stories about this moment of his life which he was very proud of, and I loved to listen about this magical world.
The carnival is a popular party. It’s from the people to the world. The samba schools are usually located in the favelas areas around the city and they work hard during one year to shine in the Sapucaí Avenue for some minutes.
Full grandstand, all lights on, crowded seats, overflowing cabins… What a beautiful moment for those who worked a lot to bring the school to the avenue. It’s a well deserve stage with people from the entire world watching them. They feel valued, it is such a beautiful feeling.
To see this party so close it is one of the best experiences in life. Since my first day working on a coverage on the Sapucaí Avenue, 10 years ago, with 18 years old, untill today, I have the same feeling. It’s very emotional.
In 2018, I was on assignment for UOL to cover the “dispersal”: the end of the avenue, where they drive the cars away and where people remove their costumes and leave it in the trucks that belongs to the samba schools before they go away. All that in the middle of Catumbi, a popular neighborhood behind the Apoteose Square (the place with the gigantic M made by Oscar Niemeyer).
It was a new place for me — I used to work on the avenue, inside the parade — but I loved covering the behind the scenes this year. From this work, I was able to create four series: “The Backstage”, “The Cars”, “The Temperature” and “The Portraits”. All made on February 11th, 12th (official parade dates) and 17th (six winner’s parade).
These photographs are the story of my carnival, which continues (almost) the same as my grandfather's carnival. I hope the photos can translate a bit of the beauty of this party and my love for this traditional carioca event.