Parintins (AM), June 27, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - A small island surrounded by the Amazon River, in the interior of the Amazon Forest, becomes the biggest tourist and cultural attraction in the North of Brazil at the end of June. Between the 28th and the 30th, the residents of Parintins go out on the streets to exhibit the festival for which they have been preparing the whole year: The bumba-oxen, two huge masquerade dolls in the form of a mythological ox from the region, wiith bodies made of cloth and carried by teams comprising up to 3 thousand people. In a very lively festival, spiced by the sound of a lot of music, the two oxen, christened with the names of "Caprichoso" and "Garantido," compete to win the preference of the spectators. They perform for a crowd of tourists and the panel of judges, just like Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. Both sides also count on the support of organized fan clubs, just like soccer teams.
This year, the two rivals have a special guest. They will pay homage during 15 minutes to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the first President to attend this cultural event in Parintins. In the Ox-Arena, which has the shape of a ox-head, the "Caprichoso," which is symbolized by the color blue, and the "Garantido," represented by red, will make their presentations. The arena was built in 1989, along the lines of Rio de Janeiro's Sambódromo.
The homage to President Lula will take place on the first night of the festival, on Saturday (28). Since 1965 the city has been divided between the two colors, as a result of the passion that residents feel for the "Caprichoso" and "Garantido" oxen. The oxen are like samba schools in Rio. They have a rhythm section, a lead singer - comparable to the lead singer of the Carnaval samba schools - and sheds, where the costumes and parade floats are made. Each "ox" is made up of around three thousand members. Just as in the Carnaval parades, the "oxen" have to win points in various categories to win the festival. Among them, beauty, soundtrack, and organized fan club.
TOURISM
The Parintins Folklore Festival is held every year at the end of June. Preparations begin two months before. During the days leading up to the festival, the atmosphere of the city becomes feverous. Activity in the streets and in the sheds is intense. The local economy is transformed. During the three days of the festival, the population of Parintins doubles, from 96 thousand to nearly 200 thousand people.
In recent years this influx of people has caused traffic accidents in the street that runs behind the "Ox-Arena." For this reason, a new bridge will be inaugurated by Governor Eduardo Braga (PPS), prior to the festival. It will link a neighborhood with 20 thousand inhabitants to the center of the city.
According to the Secretary of Public Works of Parintins, Frank Garcia, new projects are built every year for the festival. This year R$ 23 million, between state and municipal funds, were made available for infrastructure. Work was done on the central strips dividing streets and repairs of curbs, sidewalks, and paving. The federal government, through the Ministries of Mines and Energy and of Tourism, allocated R$ 2.2 million to install the electric system for the festival.
INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS
The 20 year-old student, Eleonor da Costa, is working for the first time as an assistant painting and putting together the floats of the "Garantido Ox." She is proud of the fact that the Parintins Folklore Festival is recognized internationally. "Each year, the festival gets better, and this year, it will draw more attention from the tourists because the President will be present," Eleonor believes. She earns R$ 150 per fortnight for her side-job in the shed. Still, she doesn't think that the future of the island is promissing. "Parintins has only one university, and it isn't easy to find a good source of income in the city. If someone wants to get ahead in life, she has to study elsewhere," she says.
This time of year, however, is bountiful for local artists. Francisco Guerreiro earns, on the average, R$ 3.6 thousand per month painting floats in the sheds. The excellence of Parintins's artists has provided some of them with opportunities to work making costumes and floats in samba schools in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. (DAS)
