History of Photography--Carnaval Samba in Rio

A few days ago I was dancing samba singing about the History of Photography with Unidos da Tijuca, samba school of Rio de Janeiro. [English speakers can follow my very rough translation.]



Emoldurei a magia da recordação
Com pincel de luz e cores,
Eu mudei valores,
Aprisionei seu coração

[I framed the magic of recording
with a brush of light and color
I changed values,
I imprissoned your heart.]

[This woman has her burca costume (fantasia) draped over her arm, waiting to parade with the hundreds of others dressed in burcas each carrying this photo in a glittering gold frame]

…
O munda pára
Pára, o munda pára
O munda pára pra fantasia
Um click fez o personagem
Dar força á imagem na fotografia

[The world stops
Stops, the world stops,
The world stops for imagination/fantasy
One click made a personality
To give power to the photographic image]

[An interpretation of the the photograph of the 9 year old girl napalm victim of the Vietnam war---a female body tossing about on the float, moving in an out of samba steps. Orange flames dance and consume the body figure. Smoke filters down from the jetplane above. A small soldier waving to the crowd]

Mas a vida ás vezes traz o dor,
A falta de amor pelo irmão,
O triste em belo o artisa consagrou
A lente é pura emoção

[But life sometimes brings pain
with the lack of love for our brothers
the artist dedicated the lens of pure emotion
to the beauty of sadness]
…
Reluz o show em formas sem fim,
O homen e o poder da criação,
Diga quem sou, sorria pra mim
No olhar da comunicação

[Relight the show in forms without end,
the man and the power of creation,
This is who I am
Smile for me
in the name of communication]

[When one of the wild camera flash bulbs of this raft burst, the right hand of the photography fairy/devil burned in dramatic flames . Fire trucks fled to put out the fire. Sambistas evacuated the raft and the bombadeiros (firemen) struck a pose on the raft as it drifted, without a right hand, down the rest of the avenida.]

Em preto-e-branco ganhei a vida,
O amarelo em mistério, ilusão
O azul no tom divinal,
Nas fotos do carnaval
Sou a Tijuca nesta tela digital.

[I was born in black and white
In yellow I was mystery and illusion
In blue I was a divine tone
In the photos of carnaval
I am the Tijuca on this digital screen.]