“Oh open up, I want to pass…” is CasaBloco asking to present its 6th edition with all the multiplicity and diversity of Brazilian carnivals. Public entertainment from February 6th to 8th will feature more than 10 hours of daily programming, which includes shows on two stages, performances, workshops, fashion fairs, gastronomy, dances and block presentations. This year, the theme is Where Brazil’s Carnivals Meet.
For the first time, the venue for the meeting will be the Jockey Club, in Gávea, south of Rio de Janeiro, where it will take place on stands B and C. Artists such as Roberta Sá, Vanessa da Mata, Elba Ramalho, Mart’nália, Chico César, Diogo Nogueira, Sidney Magal, Gretchen and Mãeana are confirmed among the 25 attractions.
“We know that it is important to have a big, renowned artist, but he has to be a facilitator of promotion for an artist who does not have visibility. When we put together our programming, there is always a big artist, a young one and someone new to the scene, the blocks and traditions from scratch, because one thing complements the other and this way we can give visibility to everyone”, explained the creator and general director. of the project, Rita Fernandes, to Brazil Agency.
The festival program, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Petrobras, including dances with Monobloco and Carnageralda, mixes party and block. Reinforcing the joy will come with an unprecedented tribute to the prominent figure of Brazilian TV, Chacrinha, with a presentation by Bloco Fogo & Paixão, which invites Sidney Magal, Gretchen and Natascha Falcão. The Old Warrior, as he was called, will be characterized by presenter Milton Cunha, who will perform alongside the Chacretes.
Rita Fernandes, creator and general director of Casabloco – Suzana Tierie/Disclosure
Together and mixed
As CasaBloco 2025’s proposal is to be even more diverse and inclusive, on Friday, February 7th, the festival will bring together representatives from the states’ carnivals. The afternoon begins with Bloco da Terreirada, a reference of Ceará’s popular culture mixing with the Reisado de Congo do Cariri with the Carioca Culture of Blocos de Rua. The following day, CasaBloco will have attractions from Pará, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro at the same time.
For Fogo & Paixão singer Mariana Guedes, integration with events from other parts of the country helps Rio’s carnival promoters make new connections with blocks and bands from other parts of Brazil.
“It’s super important for us to be able to grow, change, diversify. CasaBloco brings this exchange in a very fluid and very important way, showing that carnival is not just here, quite the opposite, it is growing. I’m from Curitiba, which didn’t used to have such a strong street carnival, and today the street carnival there is huge. CasaBloco starts showing us these other carnivals, which are different, even if they are street blocks”, he told Brazil Agency.
“Every year it gets busier and tickets sell out faster. For me, this is proof of how the public accepts and wants this diversity and to know this whole mix”, he added.
CCBB
The attractions are also scheduled at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center (CCBB), in the city center, from 9am to 9pm. With free admission, at CasaBloco Multilinguagem the public will have fun in workshops on carnival masks, licks, makeup, at the Petrobras CasaBloco Cinema Exhibition, and participate in conversation circles and presentations by the groups Filhos de Gandhi and Caxambu do Salgueiro.
There will be a conversation about the book Salgueiro, the Modern “Quilombo”: batuqueiro, mandingueiro, different, with the participation of researcher Helena Theodoro, journalist Leonardo Bruno, author of the book together with Nei Lopes, and Marcelo da Paz Ọlajinminá, vice-president from the Caxambu do Salgueiro cultural group, cultural and intangible heritage of Brazil.
“Participating in an event like this is a way of promoting an intangible asset, because Caxambu do Salgueiro has been Brazilian Intangible Heritage recognized by Iphan since 2005, the oldest cultural reference we have. Morro do Salgueiro is an ancestor of samba, and participating in an event like this is a way of helping to safeguard our culture through the visibility of the event itself for this group. We feel honored by the invitation”, said Marcelo da Paz Ọlajinminá to Agência Brasil.
The vice-president of the cultural group explained that Caxambu do Salgueiro is made up mainly of women over 70 years of age, and the longest-living matriarchs are Tia Dorinha, aged 97, and Tia Celina, aged 87, who pass on the culture of Caxambu dance for the younger generations of Morro do Salgueiro, in Tijuca, north of Rio de Janeiro.
Marcelo da Paz Ọlajinminá and Tia Celina, 87 years old, matriarch of Caxambu do Salgueiro – Photo: Marcelo da Paz Ọlajinminá/Personal archive
Fashion
The festival will also feature the A Rua é Nossa Fashion Fair, in partnership with the Black Bom Institute. The event will bring together 20 entrepreneurs from the state of Rio de Janeiro promoting social and economic impact on the creative economy of carnival.
“Of the participants, 80% are black and mixed race, 81% are women, 75% have been in business for more than 5 years, 61.5% have children and 71% have their business as the main source of income for the house”, informed the organization .
The Secretary of State for Culture and Creative Economy of Rio de Janeiro, Danielle Barros, remembers that CasaBloco is part of the Rio de Janeiro state calendar. And he emphasizes that he promotes Rio de Janeiro’s carnival beyond the revelry and party, because he also thinks of the segment as a creative economy and the generation of jobs and income.
Diversity will also be present in gastronomy, with the signature of Junta Local – a community that seeks to transform the food system through good, local and fair food – in the curation with local producers. Revelers will be able to enjoy vegan food, healthy snacks and foods with different accents.
Social
In this edition, the festival will employ more than 1 thousand people from pre-production to post-production. “The project maintains a partnership with Muca – Movimento Unidos dos Camelôs, founded in 2003, which receives donated food through solidarity half-price. CasaBloco also entered into a partnership with the NGO Sorrindo RJ, to hire people with disabilities”, informed the organization.
Olinda
Before all these events, CasaBloco will continue to expand outside of Rio and, this year, for the second time, it will participate in the Olinda pre-carnival, on the 1st and 2nd of February, in partnership with the Centro Cultural Casa Estação da Luz , mixing Rio samba with Pernambuco frevo.
“We have plans to expand in 2026 to another city. We want to take the project to Salvador, to create the triangle of Rio, Olinda and Salvador”, said Rita Fernandes.
