How One Rio Samba School Reacted to COVID-19

 

As summer nears, the heat of the sun will soon roll into Rio de Janeiro.

In a normal year, the warm air would send a message to Dr. Wille Baracho: Carnival¹ is coming. Baracho is a medical doctor who also runs the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school.

In any other year, his school would already be filled with the energy of preparation for the big events that come each February or early March.

Every year, busy clothing makers² create the shiny, colorful wear for more than 1,500 paraders. Hundreds of electricians³, builders, artists and painters make the large floats. And on Friday nights, the school's members dance through the neighborhood, singing songs.

But this is not a normal year. For the first time in more than a century, the coming season's Carnival has been canceled.

Brazil has the second-highest number of COVID-19 deaths after the United States. There was fear that one of the world's largest celebrations would become a super-spreader event.

Still, Unidos de Padre Miguel did not close down.

Instead, a doctor who watched COVID-19 fill hospital beds helped turn the usual hard work and excitement of his samba school to fighting the virus. Vila Vintem is one of Rio's most populous⁴ favelas. Inside the school, people are making medical clothing and face coverings for public hospitals. They are also doing coronavirus testing and giving out food to the needy⁵.

The virus was moving through Rio, threatening its 6.7 million people. Nearly one-fourth of the city's people live in favelas like Vila Vintem. Experts worried the crowding would push the public health system's coronavirus cases past its breaking point.

Yet, once again, one of Rio's communities unified⁶ instead of waiting for help from officials that might have arrived too late or not at all.

"Carnival is a different kind of happiness, it's playful and pleasurable. This is a mission," Baracho said in April. At that time, the team of seamstresses were making medical clothing. "We're talking about saving⁷ lives, and our own lives," Baracho said.

Vila Vintem favela

Baracho, who is 49, grew up just outside the favela. When he was young, he played soccer on its dirt fields. After medical school, he got a job at a nearby hospital. Then, he moved away after a shooting happened as he picked up his baby from a daycare program. It was right next to Vila Vintem.

Still, he enjoyed Sundays in Unidos' open space with room for 4,000 people for cookouts, dance tryouts and drum classes.

Nearly all the samba schools are linked to working-class neighborhoods in and around Rio. They compete against each other in the famous Carnival parade.

But today, the times before the coronavirus feel very far away.

Rio's first confirmed coronavirus case came on March 6. It was a 62-year-old woman returning from Italy. Then one of her traveling friends got sick. Soon there were many others. The happiness of Carnival usually stays for weeks after the holiday. But in 2020, it quickly disappeared.

The coronavirus health center where Baracho worked accepted people from Rio and many other cities in the state.

"When an opening became available, there were 10 people in line to enter," he said.

As in other favelas, Vila Vintem has few social services or health centers. But Baracho turned the Unidos space into a coronavirus health station. He took people's temperatures and listened to their lungs. Those with serious signs of the illness were directed to a waiting emergency vehicle.

Luzilene Viana is a 44-year-old food worker. She was coughing and weak when Baracho sent her to the hospital on May 24. An exam showed COVID-19 had damaged one-fourth of her lung, she told The Associated Press months later. Still, the hospital sent her home to isolate⁸.

"One day there was so much lack of air, I thought I'd be gone," she said. "Luckily, I recovered."

Government vs. community

The government reaction to the pandemic was disorganized. Local leaders in Rio have had issues with the law on charges related⁹ to COVID-19. In addition, President Jair Bolsonaro called the coronavirus "a little flu" and told people to refuse shelter-in-place orders. The poor, he said, would suffer more by being forced to stay at home.

Many people in Rio believed him. Vila Vintem's streets became crowded with people who listened to the president's call.

Baracho sympathized¹⁰. But he also urged community members to avoid risks.

"This is far from over," Baracho said, standing¹² in the school's near-empty space. He was warning the thousands watching their Carnival song competition on social media.

Baracho also used the emergency vehicle to check on Vila Vintem's people. He hoped it would prevent them from leaving home. One day, he used the vehicle to bring 80 donated bags of fruit. He brought bread from the store next to his house. Food bags from UNICEF were brought to the samba school's space. And community members helped give it out to the people in the neighborhood.

Baracho asked local businesses to help buy food. Stores without much money offered things like cooking oil and rice.

A decision on carnival

Even as Unidos battled the virus, it continued to prepare for next year's Carnival, watching their Carnival song competition on social media. But in early September, with no decision on Carnival 2021, the seamstresses turned off their machines.

With the extra money she got from making clothing, Vania Pereira da Silva had hoped to put in better floors on the second level of her house. She also wanted a thick wall for her home; the current one was damaged by a shooting a few years back.

Still, she agreed with the decision to stop Carnival preparations.

"We need to stay home," said da Silva.

A few days later came the long-awaited decision: Rio's 2021 Carnival parade would be canceled. Organizers said it would be impossible to hold the event safely.

"Carnival is important for the economy, for happiness, for our regional culture," Baracho said, "but more important than that is health and life."

Words in This Story

samba – n. a rhythmic¹³ Brazilian dance and drum of African origin

parader – n. a person who

float – n. a vehicle bearing¹⁴ a display, usually of an elaborate¹⁵ scene, in a parade

super-spreader event – n. an event in which an infectious¹⁶ disease¹⁷ is spread much more than usual,

favela – n. a Brazilian shack¹⁸ or shanty¹⁹ town

seamstress – n. a woman who sews clothes, curtains, or something else

cookout – n. a meal or party at which food is cooked and served outdoors

cough – v. to force air through your throat with a short, loud noise often because you are sick

isolate – v. to put or keep (someone or something) in a place or situation that is separate from others

sympathize¹¹ – v. to feel sorry for someone because you understand that person's problems

1 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 electricians   

n.电工，电气专家( electrician的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These women electricians really know their job. 这些女电工真能干。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The electricians have performed wonders in recording these long dead voices from old wax onto modern plastic surfaces. 电气技师们很出色地把这些早已失传的声音从老唱片中转录到现代的塑料薄膜唱片上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

5 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

6 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

7 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。

8 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

9 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

10 sympathized   

v.同情，支持( sympathize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her family sympathized with her desire to be a lawyer. 她全家都支持她当律师的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I sympathized with him in his sufferings. 我对他遭遇的苦难表示同情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 sympathize   

v.(sympathise)(with)同情，怜悯；共鸣，同感

参考例句：

• Don't always rely on others to understand and sympathize.不要老是指望别人的理解和同情。
• I heartily sympathize with you.我很同情你。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

14 bearing   

n.关系，影响，举止，姿态，方位，方向

参考例句：

• What you said had not much bearing on the problem.你说的话跟这个问题没有多大关系。
• He preserved his grave and dignified bearing.他保持庄重威严的仪态。

15 elaborate   

adj.详尽的；复杂的；vi./vt.详述；详细制订

参考例句：

• You understand the situation;I needn't elaborate any further.你对情况是了解的，我不必再进一步详谈了。
• He made an elaborate hairstyle.他做了一个复杂的发型。

16 infectious   

adj.传染的，有传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。
• What an infectious laugh she has!她的笑声多么具有感染力啊！

17 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

18 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

19 shanty   

n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子

参考例句：

• His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
• I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。