Customer Reviews

Carnival in Rio

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This book and CD are the next best thing to going to Carnival in Rio. Carnival is the Brazilian equivalent of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Except the scale and intensity of Carnaval dwarf Mardi Gras. Few of us will ever get to Brazil to enjoy the spectacle, but we can enjoy it from afar thanks to Helmut Teissl and his experience over 12 Carnivals.

Before praising this work further, let me put out a caution. This book contains images of bare breasts and barely covered buttocks and private parts that will offend some. If those images are troubling to you, I suggest you avoid this book. For those who are neutral on the subject, I found the displays of female anatomy to be consistent with portraying the event, rather than being present for inappropriate reasons.

One of the great strengths of this book is that it explains about the competition among the Samba clubs that is the key feature of Carnival. I learned that there are many requirements for how these are conducted. For example, there must be a group of at least 70 women over the age of 45 wearing skirts. The costumes of these women can weigh as much of 33 pounds each. That's a lot for a small woman to bear. There is also a large group of male pushers, who roll the floats ahead with hand labor. The music section that produces the Samba beat will often exceed 300, and each Samba club has its own unique Samba sound, which you can hear on the CD.

The photographs cover preparations throughout the year, as well as Carnival itself. Some of the images are of people standing, and others use a long exposure to capture the astonishing motion of the dancing. These latter images are like abstract art. In each case, the images are in vibrant color, like plumage of exotic animals in the Amazon jungle.

There is also a lot of social commentary in the photographs. In several cases, performers are wearing very expensive costumes and display smiles featuring the rotting and missing teeth of the poor. In other cases, you see expensive orthodontia in the smiles among the featured women of the Samba clubs. The costumes and the gaity seem to be pushing back against the blackness of night, the darkness of death, and the risk of damnation. In some ways, you will feel like you are watching a voodoo rite in a James Bond movie, rather than a fun parade.

After experiencing Carnival, I suggest that you think about the key rituals of our own society. What positive and not-so-positive qualities are represented? As a starting point, you might begin with Halloween and then move on to Thanksgiving. Then consider your town's Memorial Day parade. I leave it to you to choose your rituals after that. How can you and your family develop and nurture rituals that will be good for each of you and the whole family?

Feel the beat!

Here I am living in New Orleans, the home of Mardi Gras with a passion for Carnival and happy feet that move uncontrollably when I hear a samba beat! As a photographer and ethnomusicologist, I am most appreciative of a job well done. This book with its vibrant stop action YOU ARE THERE photos of beautiful dancers in colorful feathers and minuscule sequins and beads, wild frenzied crowds, happy musicians and Rio de Janeiro excitement really takes you there! The text is fascinating too and gives insight into the people, preparation and parades that make this legendary event happen each year. Plus wait there's more, folks! This package goes beyond what most books of its kind offer-it brings you the SOUNDS of Carnival music in a rockin CD. Corny as it may sound, this IS the next best thing to being there! It's always a party here in The Big Easy and I can enjoy this book and CD during Jazz Fest as well as Mardi Gras, it is timeless. Austrian author and photographer, Helmut Teissl is an artist and I'd sure like to see what he could do with Mardi Gras! Come on down, Helmut, I'll throw ya some beads from my French Quarter balcony!

This is one of the most beautiful photographic essays I have ever seen. It is so intense, it is almost too much (like the movie Moulin Rouge); but because it is a book rather than a movie, you can take it in at your own pace. The colors, excitement, and sensuality of Carnival are captured in a way that makes you glad you, too, are a member of the human race. The CD which comes with the book is a nice addition, but doesn't come close in vividness and stimulation to the photos.

I received the product on time, I was impressed by the quality of the product, it was in perfect shape, they say it was in good state, it was impeccable.