The Red and Black

Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Out & About

Media Credit: Courtesy Brazilian Student Association Partygoers at last year's Carnival party enjoy the festivities in costume. This year's party will be held at The Library downtown Friday night. [Click to enlarge]

Pull that old Halloween costume out of storage and put it to good use this weekend. The Brazilian Student Association is inviting the University and Athens community to take part in its fourth annual Carnival Party tomorrow night at The Library.

Carnival, celebrated by dressing in costumes and dancing traditional Brazilian dances in all day and night parties, is a weeklong Brazilian celebration that takes place during the same time as Mardi Gras in the U.S.

"We are trying to recreate the same energy and craziness of Carnival in just a few hours," said Zachary Cohen, treasurer of the Brazilian Student Association.

Cohen hopes that the Carnival party will help people see that "there is more to Brazil than the Amazon, Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo."

The association focuses on showing the University and Athens community many different aspects of Brazilian culture, some of which they may have never heard about.

"Brazil is almost as big as the U.S. and no one really realizes that," Cohen said. "It has many different cultures and customs that people are not even aware of."

The party will feature DJ Filipe, a Brazilian DJ from Atlanta. He will be playing a wide range of Brazilian music and members of the association will be showing everyone how to dance in each style.

Thiago Zuccherato, a business management major and Brazilian native, wants people that attend the party to understand that Brazilian dances don't have to be intimidating and merely watched from the sidelines.

"We really want people to participate and get involved in the dancing and really have fun with it," Zuccherato said. "That is the entire point of Carnival - to get in there and have a lot of fun."

To help people get a taste of all the different Brazilian cultures, the association will be teaching participants to dance to more than just Samba music. They also will be showcasing music and dances from the northeast regions of Brazil, including Axé and Forró.

Cohen describes Forró as a type of dance that is very different from the traditional Samba and is much easier to learn in a short amount of time.

"It is more of a couple's dance," Cohen said. "It's much slower and more romantic."

On top of a number of drink specials The Library will offer during the Carnival celebration, the traditional Brazilian drink "caipirinha" will also be available.

"Caipirinha is a mixed drink made from Brazilian sugar cane rum, lime juice and sugar," Cohen said. "In Brazil, it is also called the drink of the gods."

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