# Parintins Folklore Festival

Parintins Folklore Festival (Festival Folclórico de Parintins), or the Parintins Festival (Festival de Parintins) is a popular annual celebration during three days in late June held in the Brazilian city of Parintins, Amazonas. It is one of the largest annual festivals in Brazil; only the Carnival festivities in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador draw more participants. The festival is recognized as a Cultural Heritage of Brazil by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage.
The festival celebrates the Bumba Meu Boi, a legend about a resurrected ox. It is also a competition where two groups that perform this play, the Boi Garantido (red) and Boi Caprichoso (blue), compete in extended retellings of the story, each team attempting to outdo the other with flamboyant dances, singing, and parade floats. Each team has to complete its show within two and a half hours. A team that does not follow this time limit is subjected to points penalties. Each nightly performance is largely based on local Amazonian folklore and indigenous culture, but also incorporates contemporary Brazilian rhythms and themes. The place where the teams present themselves is the Parintins Cultural Center, known as "Bumbódromo", a round, grounded stage. The "Bumbódromo" supports 35.000 people in the audience.
Despite the importance of the celebration to the Amazonas region of Brazil, this festival was not widely known in other parts of the country until the musical group Carrapicho released the hit Tic Tic Tac - Bate forte o tambor in 1996. The Parintins Folklore Festival was also responsible for the release of other songs that became known in Brazil, such as Vermelho and Parintins Para o Mundo Ver, among others.
It is common for local people to tell the visitors that Parintins is the only place in the World where Coca-Cola ads are blue. While it is true that within the Bumbódromo there are Coca-Cola ads in both red and blue, there are other instances of Coca-Cola ads reflecting the colors of sporting teams. During the 2011 Festival do Boi-Bumbá, Coca-Cola was available throughout Amazonas region in special edition cans that were half red, half blue.

## History

In Parintins, groups (called bois, meaning "oxen") that performed the Bumba Meu Boi piece dates back to the early 20th century, although at the time they were much smaller and less structured groups, and did not have any formal records. Before the festival, the Garantido and Caprichoso bois were already having a certain rivalry with each other. However, there were already other bois, preceding or contemporary to these two, such as Diamantino, Ramalhete, Fita Verde, Corre-Campo, Mina de Ouro, Galante and Campineiro.
The first Parintins Folklore Festival took place in 1965, when a group of young people linked to the Catholic Church decided to hold the festival to raise funds for the construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the patron saint of Parintins. Although this year only quadrilhas performed (the typical dance of the Festas Juninas, that happen in Brazil in the month of June) and the bois were not the main attraction, the following year the groups were invited to participate in the festival, and for the first time both participated in the festival together. At that time, the criterion established to define the champion was the boi that received the most applause from those present. From then on, the rivalry between the Garantido and Caprichoso bois intensified.
Over time, the festival gained national relevance, being commercialized and "carnivalized". The groups became structured folklore associations and the event began to be broadcast nationally, by Rede Bandeirantes between 2008 and 2012, and since 2014 by TV A Crítica. The bois also perform at Carnaboi, a carnival held in Parintins.

## Results and themes

| Year | Champion | Runner-up |
| 1966 | Garantido | Caprichoso |
| 1967 | Garantido | Caprichoso |
| 1968 | Garantido | Caprichoso |
| 1969 | Caprichoso | Garantido |
| 1970 | Garantido | Caprichoso |
| 1971 | Garantido | Caprichoso |
| 1972 | Caprichoso | Garantido |
| 1973 | Garantido | Caprichoso |
| 1974 | Caprichoso | Garantido |
| 1975 | Garantido | Caprichoso |
| 1976 | Caprichoso | Garantido |
| 1977 | Caprichoso | Garantido |
| 1978 | Garantido | Campineiro |
| 1979 | Caprichoso | Garantido |
| 1980 | Garantido | Caprichoso |
| 1981 | Garantido | Caprichoso |
| 1982 | Garantido | Campineiro |
| 1983 | Garantido | Caprichoso O Indomável |
| 1984 | Garantido | Caprichoso O Infinito |
| 1985 | Caprichoso Negrão Maravilha | Garantido |
| 1986 | Garantido Garantido e Você, uma Amizade que Ninguém Destrói | Caprichoso Arte, Amor e Paz |
| 1987 | Caprichoso Revolução da Arte no Mundo | Garantido |
| 1988 | Garantido Brinquedo de São João | Caprichoso Rei Negro, Tributo a Liberdade |
| 1989 | Garantido O Eterno Campeão | Caprichoso A Força da Natureza |
| 1990 | Caprichoso Raízes de um Povo | Garantido Garantido, Amor, Magia da Ilha |
| 1991 | Garantido Uma Origem Cabocla | Caprichoso Cultura Cabocla |
| 1992 | Caprichoso A Arte de Folclorear | Garantido Folguedo de São João |
| 1993 | Garantido Rio Amazonas, Esse Rio é Minha Vida | Caprichoso No Silêncio da Mata |
| 1994 | Caprichoso Capricho dos Deuses | Garantido Templo das Eternas Lendas |
| 1995 | Caprichoso Luz e Mistérios da Floresta | Garantido Uma Viagem à Amazônia |
| 1996 | Caprichoso Criação Cabocla | Garantido Lendas, Rituais e Sonhos |
| 1997 | Garantido Parintins Para o Mundo Ver | Caprichoso O Boi de Parintins |
| 1998 | Caprichoso 85 Anos de Cultura | Garantido 500 Anos do Passado Para Construir o Futuro |
| 1999 | Garantido Mito, Cultura e Arte | Caprichoso Faz da Arte Sua História |
| 2000 | Garantido Meu Brinquedo de São João | Draw |
| 2000 | Caprichoso A Terra é Azul | Draw |
| 2001 | Garantido Amazônia Viva | Caprichoso Amor e Paixão |
| 2002 | Garantido O Boi da Amazônia | Caprichoso Amazônia Cabocla de Alma Indígena |
| 2003 | Caprichoso 90 Anos de Raízes e Tradições na Amazônia | Garantido Amazônia, Santuário Esmeralda |
| 2004 | Garantido Amazônia, Coração Brasileiro | Caprichoso Amazonas: Terra do Folclore, Fonte de Vida |
| 2005 | Garantido Festa da Natureza | Caprichoso A Estrela do Brasil |
| 2006 | Garantido Terra, a Grande Maloca | Caprichoso Amazônia Solo Sagrado |
| 2007 | Caprichoso O Eldorado é Aqui | Garantido Guardiões da Amazônia |
| 2008 | Caprichoso O Futuro é Agora | Garantido O Boi da Preservação |
| 2009 | Garantido Emoção | Caprichoso Amazonas, Onde o Verde Encontra o Azul |
| 2010 | Caprichoso O Canto da Floresta | Garantido Paixão |
| 2011 | Garantido Miscigenação | Caprichoso A Magia Que Encanta |
| 2012 | Caprichoso Viva a Cultura Popular! | Garantido Tradição |
| 2013 | Garantido O Boi do Centenário | Caprichoso O Centenário de uma Paixão |
| 2014 | Garantido Fé | Caprichoso Amazônia Táwapayêra |
| 2015 | Caprichoso Amazônia | Garantido Vida |
| 2016 | Garantido Celebração | Caprichoso Viva Parintins! |
| 2017 | Caprichoso A Poética do Imaginário Caboclo | Garantido Magia e Fascínio no Coração da Amazônia |
| 2018 | Caprichoso Sabedoria Popular: Uma revolução ancestral | Garantido Auto da Resistência Cultural |
| 2019 | Garantido Nós, o Povo! | Caprichoso Um Canto de Esperança para Mátria Brasilis |
| 2020 | In 2020 and 2021 there was no festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic | In 2020 and 2021 there was no festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | In 2020 and 2021 there was no festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic | In 2020 and 2021 there was no festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2022 | Caprichoso Amazônia Nossa Luta em Poesia | Garantido Amazônia do Povo Vermelho |
| 2023 | Caprichoso O Brado do Povo Guerreiro | Garantido Garantido Por Toda Vida |
| 2024 | Caprichoso Cultura - O Triunfo do Povo | Garantido Segredos do Coração |

## Gallery of images

* Presentation of Boi Garantido (Red) in Parintins Folklore Festival of 2016.
* Presentation of Boi Caprichoso (Blue) in Parintins Folklore Festival of 2015.
* The festival stands out in the Brazil, by following a similar model to Carnival, showing sometimes the handcraft indigenous culture of the Amazon or showing of the culture of other parts of country.
* Indigenous handicraft that takes place during the festival.
* Israel Paulain, presenter of the Boi Garantido since 2002
* The marujada de guerra of the Boi Caprichoso, which is the group of players who provide the percussion accompaniment to the songs (toadas), is the basis for the show
* Maria Azêdo was the cunhã poranga of the Boi Caprichoso from 2007 to 2018. Cunhã poranga, a term in the Nheengatu language that means "beautiful woman", represents the indigenous people.
* Sinhazinha da fazenda of the Boi Garantido. The sinhazinha da fazenda represents the daughter of the farm owner in the traditional Bumba Meu Boi.
* The porta-estandarte (standard-bearer) of the Boi Caprichoso
* The pajé (shaman) of the Boi Caprichoso
* Boi Garantido fans
* Boi Caprichoso fans