Parintins, Brazil

Wednesday, November 9th
Amazing Amazon
Day 16
M/S Regatta
Parintins, Brazil
The Amazon River
Arriving: 11:00 AM
Departing: 6:00 PM
Partly Cloudy - 95 Degrees

Parintins is a large jungle island town of 105,000 indigenous riverine people. This is the center of Indio culture on the river, an artist colony of native crafts. Parintins is a festival town known far and wide for the Festa do Boi Bumba.

For three days every June, Parintins is the place to be on the Amazon. The Boi Bumba Festival is a celebration of indigenous culture, the Amazon's answer to Carnival in Rio featuring parades, ritualistic dance, fantastic costumes, intense drama, and fierce competition. The story revolves around the death and rebirth of a legendary boi (ox) in a rivalry between two competing camps, the red Garantido clan, and the blue Caprichoso clan. This rivalry is not limited to three days in June, not restricted to the arena, not just for fun. This is serious year-round business and everyone takes sides. Homes and business are painted in red or blue. People dress in red or blue. This is Crips and Bloods without the guns. The festival draws 35,000 spectators from all over the region, overwhelming the limited accommodations available. People stay on boats anchored in the river and camp in the forest. The purpose-built stadium, the Bumbodromo, is filled to capacity for just three days a year.

Regatta is anchored at Parintins today for a special, condensed, command performance of the Boi Bumba. We are lucky to be here to have this opportunity. It is purported to be the greatest folkloric show on Earth, but we are just not folkloric folk. Even the very best folklore is still our very worst nightmare. Best of luck to the Garantidos and the Caprichosos, but we know how this story ends.