The Fascinating Boi Bumba Festival In Parintins Brazil
We found out about the fascinating Boi Bumba festival in Parintins Brazil when cruising the Amazon River on our South America cruise with Oceania Cruises. We saw the rivalry between the red and blue teams that competed in the Boi Bumba Festival at all stops on our pedicab tour. And we found the most amazing street art too! Â
A Pedicab Tour Around Parintins
The second port stop on our cruise along the Amazon River was in the smaller town of Parintins. When we got off the tender boat in port, we knew immediately there was much to learn on this stop!Â
People hawking tours or pedicab rides swarmed us at the port. We got a pedicab tour for $10 US and were happy there was no need for local currency. But we had such a wonderful tour with him, that our guide got a great tip. We managed with our limited Brazilian Portugese language skills and his level of English to get the full essence of this charming small town.
As we began our tour, our guide talked about the locals sights. And we knew we were in for colourful treats around the town of Parintins.
Learning About Boi Bumba And The Team Rivalry
Parintins was located on the Tupinambarana Island in the middle of the Amazon River. It was at about the halfway point on our cruise along the Amazon River to the turnaround point in the larger city of Manaus. Our visit by cruise ship was perfect for this island stop.
Parintins was probably best known for the rivalry in the town between the red (Garantido) and blue (Caprichoso) supporters. The big 3 day festival (âBoi Bumbaâ or âBumba Meu Boi” festival ) happened in the last week of June. Boi Bumba means “bull dance.” It was second only to Rioâs Carnivale in popularity.
Each group presents the story of the death and resurrection of the bull (or ox) through elaborate and synchronized presentations. Stories depicted indigenous traditions, river life, and the cultural diversity of the Amazon region. Teams were judged on their music, dance and costumes.
See The Red And Blue Rivalry In Town
As we moved around the town, we saw lots of signs of support for the red or blue teams. We stopped at the Bumbodromo arena and saw the red and blue sections in the stands. The arena held an audience of 35,000 people. This was where the elaborate shows were performed.
Our driver easily managed to convey to us that he was a blue supporter. He made sure we stopped at the large arena (the âCaprichoso OâBoi de Parintinsâ) where the blue supporters gathered to celebrate. As expected, we found the arena decorated in blue. We saw some of the costumes from prior year festivals. And the large number of awards the blue teams won.
It was so interesting learning more about the Boi Bumba Festival In Parintins. This looked like such a fun festival to enjoy. Although we knew it was serious work for the red and blue teams to prepare for and compete.
Amazing Street Art
We were most amazed that we found some beautiful pieces of street art as we travelled around the town. Close to the Bumbodromo many art pieces had bull themes. But we found others that denoted an eclectic selection of topics. And some were even intricate 3 dimensional pieces.
Our tour guide next stopped at Praca da Libedade. In the middle of the park was a short circular wall. We walked around the wall and the beautiful art we found on public display kept us engaged.
As our pedicab moved around town we kept our eyes peeled. The colourful street art we saw everywhere delighted us.
We really enjoyed our time touring around and learning more about the Boi Bumba Festival In Parintins. The colourful art displays we found at every stop made us keep our eyes peeled for more.
Fun Learning About The Boi Bumba Festival In Parintins Brazil
We saw so many interesting sights cruising around South America. On our pedicab tour we learned more about the Boi Bumba festival in Parintins. This was definitely an interesting and colourful stop on our visit to Brazil. All around town we found beautiful street art the celebrated the culture and history of this area.
On our cruise on the Amazon, there was a Boi Bumba Folk Show excursion in Parintins that we did not select. This show at the Parintins Convention Centre provided a brief taste of the performances typical during the Boi Bumba festival. After touring the town and learning more about Boi Bomba, we wished we had not missed this treat.
It would be fun to return when the Boi Bumba Festival was actually in progress. Although I am not sure whether we would cheer for the red or blue teams.
Did you go know about the Boi Bumba Festival In Parintins on the Amazon River? Would you want to visit during this event?
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The Boi Bumba festival sounds really unique! And Parintins is a fascinating place to explore and clearly so colourful too. I love the street art here, I really wasn’t expecting it. Hope I get to visit one day too.
Parintins was a fun and colourful stop on our Amazon cruise. Would definitely be fun to be there for the Festival.
I hadn’t heard of this festival before. Sounds like it would be fun to visit Parintins during the festival though!
It was fun to learn more about the Boi Bumba Festival on our stop in Parintins.
What an incredible experience! The Boi Bumba Festival in Parintins sounds so exciting, especially with the rivalry between the red and blue teams. Your pedicab tour seems like the perfect way to explore the town, and learning that Boi Bumba means âbull danceâ makes the festival even more fascinating. The street art must have been amazing too. A cruise along the Amazon River is on my bucket list, and this article has definitely inspired me even more!
We loved learning so much about the red and blue rivalry for the Boi Bumba Festival in Parintins. A fun stop on our Amazon cruise.
Looks like another fabulous adventure! One of my favorite things about travel is stumbling upon unique local traditions/experiences. The Boi Bumba festival seems like one of those! And that street art- WOW!
We were amazed at the street art we found. Fun that some was related to the Boi Bumba rivalry. But also a colourful variety.
The Boi Bumba Festival sounds like a fun event! Unfortunately, you didn’t experience the festival but you saw the preparation. I guess you have a reason to go back to Parintins.
We definitely learned that the Boi Bumba Festival would be a fun time to visit Parintins on the Amazon River!
This looks like such a fun experience! The murals and street art would probably be my go to. Love looking at art and unique places.
We too were amazed at all the colourful street art we found. And such a diverse set of subjects too!
If anyone knows how to seize the day, it is you two! You are both so inspiring. I love to travel (mostly Europe), my husband not so much. Would love to go on an Amazon River Cruise (ever since âAfrican Queenâ) and would love to visit Parintins and the Boi Bumba festival. Such a revelation about the Amazon!
We were so glad we got to cruise on the Amazon River – even if it was not exactly what we expected. But stops like Parintins was a very nice surprise. Fun to learn more about the Boi Bumba Festival.
What a fun tour and interesting city! The street art is amazing.
We were fascinated to learn more about the Boi Bumba Festival. And sure enjoyed the colourful street art.
Wow the street art is stunning and to see the Boi Bumba Festival would be amazing. It sounds like it would be such an amazing experience.
We were quite delighted with our stop in Parintins. We learned so much and enjoyed our tour of the town.
What a cool celebration! I have never heard of Boi Bumba festival – would be great to visit it one day, especially since the street art looks epic! Would love to see the Boi Bumba Folk Show as well!
We were glad we learned more about the fun Boi Bumba Festival. But were simply blown away with all the colourful street art we found.
Sounds like you had a great tour in this colorful town! The festival sounds funâseems like the best time to visit!
The Boi Bumba Festival in Parintins was a delight to discover on this cruise on the Amazon River.
How does the rivalry between Garantido and Caprichoso influence the festivalâs atmosphere and activities?
Our guide said the rivalry was intense but friendly. People in the town all had favourite sides and both cheered and participated in the event. Visitors must have to decide which team to support!
Cruising the Amazon River would be my ultimate flex in life, Brazil is a gorgeous country worth exploring and the boi bumba fest looks like so much fun. The street art is amazing as well. Thanks for sharing this.
We were so glad we got this stop in Parintins on the Amazon River cruise. A great experience to show the variety along this iconic river trip.