Religious Carnival bands use samba to prostyletize

RIO DE JANEIRO — The Carnival band kicked off according to tradition: Dozens of percussionists struck their bass drums, sending a low rumble like a sustained thunderclap echoing among the skyscrapers of Rio's downtown. Tambourines answered lightly, tinkling over the drummers' resounding call. Dancers responded with a roar, throwing up their hands, feet leaping to the frenetic beat.

For years, the samba's staccato rhythm has been the backdrop for songs celebrating the debauchery that marks this city's five-day street party. This time, however, the lyrics came with a surprising twist.

"We are the people of the Lord, a holy nation," the revelers sang. "We are here to proclaim the marvels of he who has called us from the darkest depths to his glorious light, and to glorify the name of Jesus."

The chorus, "Oh, Jesus!" and the 5-foot-tall letters spelling out "Jesus (heart) you" on top of the float bearing loudspeakers left little doubt of the band's intentions: to evangelize through samba, using Rio's Carnival extravaganza to fish out souls in greatest need of conversion.

"We're here for those who are lost, without hope, hungry for God," said Isabel Gutierrez, a member of the Mocidade Dependente de Deus band, whose name loosely translates as "Youth that Depends on God."

"We used to go on retreat during Carnival, but doing that we don't save anyone," she said. "We're here to spread the real good news."

Brazil's Carnival may have religious roots: It is an exaltation of the pleasures of the body, before the deprivation of Catholic Lent. Its modern expression, however, is undeniably secular, with partiers so focused on finding the next street band or beer vendor that every year's festivities overshoot Ash Wednesday, when tradition says sobriety should settle in.

Resolutely pushing against that tide of hedonism are a few "blocos," or roving street bands, such as Mocidade Dependente de Deus. It is one of at least three Christian Carnival bands that try to use the yearly party to do some "strategic evangelizing.

The tactic works, said participants who called the experience exhilarating, because it ushers them to the front lines of a spiritual battlefield.

"I've seen people accept Jesus during Carnival because they heard us and felt the call," said Luciana dos Santos Silva, who has been parading with Mocidade for three years. "Lives are saved here."