To the rhythm of friendship, source of hope

Carnival is a very serious thing here in Brazil, it cannot be improvised. The big schools work practically all year round to prepare their parade. There are so many details: from the costumes, to the music, to the allegorical floats... Everything converges on a theme that is the result of continuous creativity from year to year. The carnival is also highly anticipated at the Arsenale della Speranza: for the past 10 years we have wanted the energy of this party to become an opportunity to unite as many people as possible by passing on a good message, consistent with the contents of the Arsenale. This is how our “block” was born, called Batuca-Bresser from the name of our neighborhood and it became an important event.

For us too, the preparation is made up of many details which are almost always people to take by the hand and involve in this great challenge that is our carnival: bringing children, young people, parishioners, the our guests, volunteers, friends of migrant communities, elderly people. Which, said like this, may seem like a nice poetic list, but to be composed it needs to break down various barriers, which unfortunately are still very present in today's Brazil. And so the preparation is almost a marathon, in which every step is essential to get to the day of the parade, which this year will be February 3rd. We start with the drums, the percussion group that gives the rhythm to everyone and which is patiently built by some faithful volunteers who, together with the drums of a famous university in São Paulo, tirelessly look for guests with some musical experience who can join them . And they are tests after tests, to synchronize, so that the rhythm can flow at its best!

This year we also managed to have a small allegorical float, or rather a bonde, a kind of tram-locomotive. Painted in a graffiti workshop with the Italian artist Luca Ledda and assembled with a lot of creativity thanks to the contribution of a small group of guests who enjoyed the possibility of physically building something beautiful, together. Decorated by a group of young people who spent a week volunteering in the Arsenale, it is in itself a beautiful sign of "at the pace of friendship, a source of hope" which is this year's theme. Then there are the children who came to prepare the masks and the various colorful decorations to show off together with their costumes. Some women from the Bolivian community of the parish of Casaluce also got involved and will come with their traditional clothes, as a sign of a friendship that extends to other countries and ideally to the whole world. And last but not least, the front committee of the group that opens the parade with choreography and dances and which this year comes directly from the experience of the Christmas show: the artistic producer made himself available and our actors enthusiastically welcomed this new challenge. We are now at the final rush: the moment to invite everyone so that the streets of our neighborhood are filled with the hope that all of us together can bring, breaking barriers to the rhythm of our batucata. This is our wonder.


By the editorial staff
NP February 2024