Noite dos Tambores silenciosos - the night of the silent drums
Two very special carnival events are the „Noite dos tambores silenciosos“ in Olinda and Recife. The „Night of silent drums“ always takes place on the Monday before carnival, in this year it is the 1st of February. The Maracatus Nação meet up on Rose Monday.
In Olinda, the Maracatus de Baque Virado meet up at the junction of Quatro Cantos. From there they parade through the Rua do Amparo and assamble in front of the church Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Homens Pretos. In front of the entrance portal a Candomblé ritual is celebrated. At midnight peole remain in silence for several minutes to in honor to their ancestors. The celebration is then ended with a prayer for the following carnival days.
In Recife the Noite dos Tambores Silenciosos ends in front of the church Rosario dos Homens pretos. The parade starts in the Rua Estreita do Rosário. In Recife the highly emotional silent moments in memory of their ancestors are underlined by the street lamps being turned off and the streets fall in complete darkness. Both of those events you should definitively mark red in your calendar - don´t miss them!
In precarnival Olinda, the public rehearsals of the different Maracatus take place on Sundays in different streets and places. The first adress is Praça do Carmo. From here many groups start their parades through the historic centre. The group Badia - the most creative Maracatu of Olinda plays loads of great grooves, rehearses every Sunday close by the water reservoir up on the hill of Alto da Sé. You can take the elevator up to the reservoir from where you have a fantastic view over Olinda, Recife and the sea.
Un the upper side of Praça do Carmo there is - tucked away under large trees - the restaurant „Mourisco“. There you can sit in the shade in a peaceful atmosphere and eat for little money. You chose your food and put your plate on a scale - the price is by weight.
Check out their event details on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1065720593452614/