Carnival in Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul State

Abstract

The goal of this article is the carnival in Corumbá, a cultural practice that has been systematically carried out since the beginning of the 20th century. Its objective is to analyze the history of this party, in order to apprehend its uniqueness and the relations that it has established with the market and the cultural industry, revealed through the process that involves from the programming to the accomplishment of the parades. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, memoir reports, documents from the public and private sectors, photos and films constituted the set of primary sources used. Secondary sources were searched in books and scientific journals. As a more general conclusion, it should be noted that in the 1920s, the carnival in Corumbá was a cultural practice that exalted local symbols, denoting the consciousness of social subjects, especially the carnival people themselves, in relation to their environment. This bond was maintained over time, but progressively had to be adjusted to the precepts of public and private managers, the market and the cultural industry, which imposed a new scenario for the celebration.