Folklore Festival of Parintins

The Folklore Festival of Parintins is a popular festival held annually on the last weekend of June in the city of Parintins, Amazonas.

The festival is a presentation where two competing associations, the "Boi Garantido" in red, and "Boi Caprichoso" in blue. The presentation occurs in Bumbódromo, a type of stage in the shape of a stylized ox head, with capacity for 35 thousand spectators. During the three nights of lodging, two oxen exploit the regional and thematic legends, rituals and customs of indigenous riparian through allegories and stage.

The Festival of Parintins has become one of the largest disseminators of culture Amazon.

Why Boi - an ox, that is? Why are there two of them? What do their names - Caprichoso and Garantido - mean?

Where does the whole synopsis come from? Who are Cunha-Poranga, Paje, Sinhazinha, Tuxauas? Why do Curupira's feet point backwards? Where do Gigante Juma, Cobra Grande, Formiga do Fogo come from? There are many different answers to each of these questions (it is up to you to decide which version you want to believe).

You can find them in the variety of books, magazines, ethnographical studies, doctoral theses dedicated to the Boi-Bumbá festival. Or you can just go to Parintins and get a first-hand impression. Watch the performance. Listen to the toadas, immerse yourself in the beat of the Marujada and the Batucada.

Talk to the local people, listen to their stories. After that you can come to your own conclusion. Experience the heat and the bustle of the city, taste the regional dishes and drinks. It is an unforgettable, unique experience.

After all, where else can you see a Coca-Cola ad in blue? A fact that deserves mention is that while a Boi parades and everybody does their choreography, the contrary should remain silent, not to overshadow the show. A real lesson in chivalry. The rivalry is ferrenha, but always respecting the warmth. Both the members of Caprichoso, or guaranteed, are limited to calling the rival of "contrary".



And to enhance the festival, the city of 45 thousand more than doubles in size, with more than 100 thousand people between Parintinenses and tourists. In Bumbódromo, Boi presents each for 3 hours in three days of festival. The order of presentations is always determined by lot. In this festival, folklore and religion are mixed among the forest animals, figures of popular imagination and Indians.

Source of some information and pictures about the festival.
http://tinyurl.com/mk43y2
http://www.boibumba.com/

On the choice of the festival poster, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/nu2d5b