Carnival in Olinda is part of a unique Brazilian experience that is even more complete when combined with Carnival in Recife.
While Carnival in these sister cities, separated by less than five miles, may have a lot in common, such as a passion for frevo and the fact that both festivals take place in historic districts, there is a unique feel about Carnival in Olinda. . For starters, Carnival in Olinda is best during the day, while Recife is great at night as well.
The Olinda carnival takes over the streets of the colonial district, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Some historic buildings are fenced off by IPHAN (Brazilian Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage) during wild festivities.
You may know the giant puppets of Olinda
The giant puppets represent from traditional carnival characters to current, Brazilian and international celebrities. Artists create them out of papier-mâché and fabric. The person carrying a 15 foot tall puppet endures temperatures in the 100s.
Giant puppets open and close the festivities. The Midnight Man comes out as soon as Zé Pereira Saturday (Carnival Saturday) starts. The absolutely packed parade led by Midnight Man has opened every Carnival since 1932 and is mostly followed by locals.
There are some stories to explain the origin of the Midnight Man. According to the president of the Midnight Man Club, one of the stories says that the creator of the puppet was inspired by a man he used to see on the streets of Olinda at night, jumping windows to be with local women. The man generally wore green, and so does the Midnight Man.
The Giant Puppet Gathering, a very popular event featuring dozens of these colorful characters, takes place on Fat Tuesday.
The carnival in Olinda involves about 500 groups and nearly 200 events, which in 2014 took place in centers (by): At Fortescue, Polo Bonsucesso, Polo Kids (Kids’ Hub, in Praça do Carmo), Polo Amaro White Polo Maracatu (in Mercado Eufrásio Barbosa in Varadouro), Polo do Samba (Alto da Sé), Polo Guadalupe, Polo Salgadinho, Polo Rio Doce, Polo Afro Nação Xambá and Polo Casa da Rabeca. Two stations for people with disabilities were available at Polo Fortim and Praça do Carmo; They received about 100 visitors a day.
When to plan your Olinda carnival
Many people start making plans for the Olinda Carnival a year in advance. But many hotels in Olinda will not have Carnival prices available on their websites before July or even as late as October.
Recife is always an option for travelers who want to spend Carnival in Olinda. There are transfers between neighboring cities, which are less than five miles apart. But if you want to stay in a hotel in Olinda, start looking for the available alternatives months in advance, as there are fewer hotels than in Recife.
Security issues
The carnival in Olinda has taken important steps in the safety and preservation of the historical treasures of the city. At Carnival 2014, there were no deaths in the city’s emergency rooms and no damage occurred against historic buildings.
The city established a support network in citizenship, urban control, sanitation and portable toilets, health, transit and transportation, and tourism. Some of its powers include the enforcement of a city ordinance that prohibits music and noise levels in unofficial Carnival celebrations above 70 decibels; control of prohibited glass containers in the Historic Center, with five glass-for-plastic exchange stations that collected 2,187 glass containers; six 24-hour emergency clinics and two ambulance stations; health and safety teams whose tasks included the distribution of 160,000 condoms and information campaigns on the prevention of drinking and driving.
Some numbers from Carnival 2014
According to the city administration, Olinda Carnival 2014 had 2.7 million revelers, who injected more than R $ 150 million into the economy. Hotel occupancy reached 98%.
The city surveyed 556 visitors and found that 56% were male and 89% were Brazilian. Most of the Brazilian tourists came from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte; 11% of international tourists were predominantly from France, Italy, England, Germany and Argentina. Their average age was 26 to 35 years old and their stay in the city ranged from 4 to 10 days.
Some more stats
- 180 police officers on duty during the festivities
- 600 street sweepers, seven water trucks for street cleaning, 80,000 liters of water per day and 420 liters of eucalyptus essence used per day
- 282 portable toilets, two of them accessible to people with disabilities
- 3,837 people treated in emergency units
- Lost people assisted: 82 elderly people, 86 children and 12 tourists
- 460 tons of garbage, 32,250 kilos of recyclable items collected
- 126 reports of disorderly conduct; 28 arrests for lewd acts, 46 for urinating on the street
- 22 traffic violations and two car accidents reported
- 1,285 food sanitation inspections carried out;
