Carnival in front of the Town Hall
"Prefeitura de Olinda"
in the Street "Rua de São Bento",
of Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Bem vindo!  Willkommen!  Welcome! 
Bienvenido!  Bienvenue!  Benvenuto!

Carnival in front of the Town Hall "Prefeitura de Olinda"
in the Street "Rua de São Bento",
of Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Please mouse-click on the pictures for close-ups !

THE CARNIVAL OF OLINDA,
Pernambuco, Brazil is a Streetcarnival.

Already some months before the actual Carnival of Olinda and Recife is taking place, are beginning in december the first carnival events of Olinda and Recife with the "Pré-Carnival". The city Olinda is already festively decorated. Carnivalgroups are moving around with their bands under the hot sounds of the frentic rhythm of the frevomusic, the "Frevo". And the first fans are coming to this carnivalevents. They are accompanying and following this carnivalgroups, singing and dancing. Olinda is already in the best mood of carnival.

The Carnival festivities begin in December, as locals begin preparing for the official Carnival in Recife and Olinda, which starts the week before Ash Wednesday. The pre-Carnival parties usually consist of percussion groups practicing in local clubs, city streets and squares, and even Carnival balls. There are a variety of rhythms from native Indian and African Maracatu beats to Frevo and samba. Carnival officially starts with the Galo da Madrugada, a party in downtown Recife attracting as many as 20,000 costumed partiers!

The ball Baile dos Artistas:
One of the most famous Gay Carnival Balls of Brazil is the Baile dos Artistas, (The Ball of the Artists), in Recife (8 kilometers from Hotel Pousada Peter), which always takes place on friday, two weeks before the last weekend of the real Carnival of Recife and Olinda. This Baile dos Artistas is one of the most creative and funniest carnival balls of Brazil. Meanwhile it is so trendy, that all of the straight society of Recife and Pernambuco is participating, too. Every year some tv companies are showing this Baile dos Artistas life on tv. This ball Baile dos Artistas is the begin of the last big carnival ball events of Recife. In addition, there are a lot of other carnival ball events in Recife, too.

The ball Baile Masque (Ball of the Masks):
The next big carnival ball after the Baile dos Artistas is the ball Baile Masque, (Ball of the Masks), taking place one day after the Baile dos Artistas always on saturday, two weeks before the last weekend of the real carnival of Recife and Olinda. Every year some tv companies are showing this Baile Masque life on tv.

The ball Baile Municipal:
The Baile Municipal, (Ball of the City Recife), is taking place on the next saturday, which is the last weekend before of "Carnival". The Baile Municipal is the biggest carnival ball of Recife. Every year some tv companies are showing this Baile Municipal life on tv. In addition many numerous other ballevents and carnival streetparties are taking place in Recife and Olinda.

By the way, you will meet on all of this three big ballevents a fix part of the same participants, who are enjoying this wonderfull popular carnivalballs.

Last not least, this three carnival balls Baile dos Artistas, Baile Masque and the ball Baile Municipal are the highlights of the Carnival Ball Season of Recife and Pernambuco. They are popular events. This explains the participation of the whole population, because the reasonable prices for the entrance makes it possible.

Carnaval in Olinda actually gets going two Sundays before the official start, when the "New Virgens of Olinda", (As Novas Virgens de Olinda), in the Bairro Novo of Olinda, a traditional new bloco several hundred strong, parades down the seafront road followed by crowds that regularly top 200,000. By now the old city is covered with decorations: ribbons, streamers and coloured lanterns are hung from every nook and cranny, banners are strung across streets and coloured lighting set up in all the squares.

The last Sunday before the actually Carnival of Olinda gets going on there is another traditional bloco "As Virgens de Olinda", (The Virgins of Olinda), with several hundred strong, parades down the seafront road followed by crowds that regularly top 200,000.

Olinda's Carnaval is not only famous for its bonecos, which are first paraded around on Friday night and then at intervals during the days, but also for the decorated umbrellas that aficionados use to dance the frevo. The tourist office has lists of the hundreds of groups, together with routes and approximate times, but there is something going on all the time in most places in the old city. The most famous blocos, with mass followings, are Pitombeira and Elefantes; also try catching the daytime performances of travestis, transvestite groups, which have the most imaginative costumes – ask the tourist office to mark them out on the list for you.

Olinda's Carnaval is generally considered to be one of the three greatest in Brazil, along with Rio and Salvador. It overshadows the celebrations in neighbouring Recife, and attracts thousands of revellers from all over the Northeast. It's easy to see why Olinda developed into such a major Carnaval: the setting is matchless, and local traditions of art and music are very strong. Like the other two great Brazilian carnivals, Olinda has a style and feel all of its own: not quite as large and potentially intimidating as in either Rio or Salvador, the fact that much of it takes place in the winding streets and small squares of the old city makes it seem more manageable. The area of the historic centre "Cidade Alta" of town is one of the liveliest during Carnaval. The music, with the local beats of frevo and maracatu predominating, the costumes and the enormous bonecos, papier-mâche figures of folk heroes or savage caricatures of local and national personalities, make this Carnaval unique.

The Carnival of Olinda is famous because of its popularity and of the participation of the entire population of the State Pernambuco and Brazil. It is told, that the Carnival of Olinda is the most authentic, the best, the most beautiful and the most spontaneous Carnival within of Brazil, too, because it is a popular Streetcarnival. This Streetcarnival is not commercialized, which explains and makes its polarity.

Hotel Pousada Peter is located in one of the best-known streets of historic Olinda, the elevated "Cidade Alta", in Rua do Amparo 215,