Micaretas are off-season celebrations similar to

Brazilian Carnival The Carnival of Brazil (, ) is an annual festival held the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter. During Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally ...

. The ''micaretas'' are similar to the

Bahian Carnival Bahian Carnival () is the annual carnival festival celebrated in the Brazilian state of Bahia, mainly in its capital, Salvador. The event officially lasts for six days, beginning on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday and concluding on Ash Wedne ...

and very different from the

samba school A samba school () is a dancing, marching, and drumming (Samba Enredo) club. They practice and often perform in a huge square-Compound (enclosure), compounds ("quadras de samba") and are devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an Afro-Brazili ...

parades that are popular in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. The central feature of a ''micareta'' is a large truck called a "

trio elétrico Trio elétrico (, ''electric trio'') is a kind of truck or float equipped with a high-power sound system and a stage for music performance on the top, playing for the crowd as it drives through the cities. It was created in Bahia specifically fo ...

." The trio elétrico is wired with loudspeakers and has a band performing on the truck's trailer. The truck drives slowly along the streets or sits parked in an enclosed space and a crowd follows the trio elétrico singing, dancing, and jumping to the sound of the music. To be allowed to follow the truck, one must buy admittance to one of the several "blocos" (block). A bloco is an enterprise which obtains permission to participate in the micareta, hires the band, sells admittance, and controls access. Brazil has several ''micaretas'' that take place throughout the year in various cities. They are conducted either in the streets (''traditional micareta'') or in enclosed spaces (''indoor micareta''). The first ''micareta'' took place in

Feira de Santana Feira de Santana (; Portuguese language, Portuguese for "Saint Anne's Fair") is a city in Bahia, Brazil. It is the second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 616,272 according to Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, ...

, the second largest city of the state of

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

. That micareta started because rain destroyed what had been prepared to celebrate carnival. Following the cancellation of their Carnival celebrations, the city's inhabitants celebrated a micareta at a later date. The resulting ''Micareta de Feira'' is one of the most important micaretas of Brazil. Carnatal is the largest ''micareta'' in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

.Micareta shakes Sobal
Diario do Nordeste ortuguese 10/12/17 It is held annually in December in the city of

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

in the state of

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", refe ...

References

Entertainment events in Brazil Brazilian Carnival Feira de Santana {{Brazil-culture-stub