Frevo: Cultural Heritage

Frevo is a very interesting rhythm, originally from Pernambuco, blending rhythms like march and maxixe with elements of capoeira. The name comes from the verb “Ferver” (to boil), pronounced “frevê” in Pernambuco.

Carnival in Olinda is fundamentally the carnival of frevo and, therefore, the most popular of all Brazilian carnivals because frevo doesn’t have a frevo school, frevo enredo, or frevo-elétrico. The dancers are on the ground, and the people follow suit.

The more acrobatic steps, inherited from capoeira, confirm its poor and popular origins, and raise some questions, such as: would Black and poor people need to fight and defend themselves to be able to dance through the city streets?

This origin further enhances the fact that frevo was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012.

Frevo umbrella with Pernambuco flag, colorful decoration of the Brazilian Carnival in the city of Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil