The opening of the 7th edition of the CasaBloco Festival takes place this Friday (23) and Saturday (24), and brings together, for the first time, the carnival festivities of Rio de Janeiro and Recife. The festival began, at 5pm, with a march of Lyric Blocks, including Confete and Serpentina and, at 10pm, a performance by Elba Ramalho, all at Praça do Arsenal, in the Historic Center of Recife, with free entry. 
CasaBloco also promotes the meeting of two traditional blocks: Cordão da Bola Preta, which gathers thousands of revelers through the streets of the center of Rio de Janeiro, with its 107 years of history; and the traditional Galo da Madrugada, symbol of Recife’s carnival, which brings together more than 1 million people in the central region of the capital of Pernambuco, on Carnival Saturday.
Anyone who goes to the square will also see Os Caboclos de Lance, from Maracatu de Baque Solto, with a show by Master Manuelzinho Salustiano. For the project’s creator and general director, Rita Fernandes, the integration between Rio and Recife’s carnival is a dream come true, thanks to the partnership with the city hall of the capital of Pernambuco.
“A very big achievement, because we started with a small idea and, when we realized it, the thing happened and on a larger scale than we imagined at the beginning”, Rita told Brazil Agency.
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Expansion
She highlighted that Pernambuco’s carnival is very important, because the state’s carnival culture, along with that of Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, is one of the main ones in the country.
01/23/2026 – CasaBloco Festival brings together carnivals from Rio de Janeiro and Recife. Photo Mangabeira/Casabloco – Mangabeira/Casabloco
“I think they are the three most important carnival cultures in Brazil. But I have a special feeling for Pernambuco culture because the diversity of rhythms and types of manifestations here is immense. When you think you’ve known everything, there are still new things to discover”, said the general director of CasaBloco.
“You have here the urban and rural maracatus, the Cavalos Marinhos, the Paraquitos, the frevos, the cirandas and so on. It’s a gigantic business. I’m also very impressed by Pernambuco’s pride in its culture, something I’ve been raising a flag for for a long time”, he added.
In Rita Fernandes’ perception and understanding, Brazilian culture is more than identity. “It moves groups, the economy, feelings, identities.” For the general director of the project, “the strength of Brazilian culture is very great. And I think that it has not been recognized in its capacity, in its power, in any of the scales and spheres, as it should be, as a productive, economic sector, one of the most important that Brazil has”, she stated.
Rita confessed to being very happy and proud of having managed to travel between the carnivals of the two capitals. Until then, with the CasaBloco festival, she was only taking Brazilian events to Rio de Janeiro that she wanted to give visibility to. “But now I’m managing to do the opposite, circulating the Rio demonstrations, mixing the Brazilian carnivals that I think are so important.”
According to her, this is the most important first step in expanding the CasaBloco project. He believes that, in a short time, the circulation of carnival cultures will increase even further to Belém (PA), São Luís (MA) and other cities that have important traditions and histories of popular culture. “And I really want to absorb it at CasaBloco”, he added.
Rio de Janeiro
23.01.2026 – CasaBloco Festival returns to the Jockey Club, in Rio de Janeiro, from January 29th to 31st, with shows, performances, balls and fashion fairs. Photo Lucas Teixeira/Casabloco – Lucas Teixeira/Casabloco
In Rio de Janeiro, the event returns to the Jockey Club from the 29th to the 31st of January, with shows, performances, balls and fashion fairs, and to the Cinemateca do Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM), from the 27th to the 29th of this month, with the V Mostra CasaBloco de Cinema.
Highlights include names like Alcione, Sarajane, Samuel Rosa, Fernanda Abreu, Geraldo Azevedo, Juliana Linhares, Lenine and Spok Frevo. The festival will have three themed nights dedicated to samba, frevo, maracatu, pop, brega and axé. Dances from the Cacique de Ramos, Quizomba and Fogo e Paixão blocks are also planned.
Those who like carnival and samba, but don’t miss out on a good film, can watch special screenings at the Cinemateca do MAM. Samba and Da Lata, 30 Yearsfollowed by a conversation with Fernanda Abreu, João Avelleira, founder of the Suvaco do Cristo block, and Lenine, on the 27th.
On the 28th, the sessions involve films Samba Mystery and The Man in the Green Coat plus Samba Infinito. Closing the exhibition, on the 29th, it will be time for the films Thirty and 90s – The Pagoda Explosion.
