CLACS Media Collection

Catalog Information

This perceptive and engaging documentary examines one of the largest and most extraordinary popular celebrations in the world, the week-long Carnaval that brings more than two million people to the streets of Salvador, the capital of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. Carnaval is the most expressive showcase of the unique cultural richness of Bahia, where African culture has survived, prospered, and evolved, mixing with other Brazilian influences to create forms found nowhere else in the world. The film captures this unique cultural energy through extraordinary footage of musical performances, dances, religious manifestations, and street celebrations. "Festive Land" will stimulate reflection and discussion in any course studying the African diaspora, cultural anthropology, Latin American studies, comparative religion, or ethnomusicology.

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