Pre-Caju was spectacular! There were people everywhere, walking, dancing, selling, or watching. Each trio had staff in front of it to push people out of the way. Camarotes (theater boxes) lined the opposite side of the street and they were full. You had to buy a pass to sit in a specific camarote.
The trios were 18 wheel trucks and HUGE! The trailer part was 2 stories high! The first story was all loudspeakers and generators. And I am talking WALLS of speakers! The speakers lined both sides of the trailers, 10 feet high and 50 feet long, and more speakers on the backs and fronts of the trailers. The second story was where the musicians played, dancers danced, the sound mixers had their control boards, and the lighting people had their control boards. If I count the lighting stands, the trio was THREE stories high! The trios moved at a snail's pace and often stopped for 10-15 minutes at a time. The entire parade route could not have been much more than a mile long but each trio took 5-6 hours to travel it. The program I got from a tourist office listed 15 blocos/trios each day.
The Pre-Caju was nothing like the Carnaval in RJ that is known around the world. This one was highly commercialized with each trio conspicuously displaying the logos of its sponsors. Coca Cola, Brahma beer, Kaiser beer, some European auto makers, and some record companies were among the largest sponsors. Lula's slogan "Alegria 100%, Fome 0%" was also very prominent in the camarotes and on light posts. The blocos did not come from the neighborhoods and did not feature samba contests or flamboyant costumes. They were simply nationally known musicians playing atop the trios surrounded by paid fans. Some of the more popular ones were Asa de Aguia, Timbalada, Ivete Sangalo, and Gilberto Gil with Bando Beijo. The same blocos appeared each day. There were no naked women dancing in the street or anywhere else. On Sunday 2 trios had a naked painted lady on their platforms. My hostess and her family thought they were quite unattractive by Brazilian standards and made fun of them.
The people were the most fascinating part of Pre-Caju. They were really into the spirit of things. One trio was playing an extremely popular song, in which there was a countdown to the chorus. During the chorus everyone jumped up and down punching their fists into the air. I can't describe the feeling of seeing hundreds of people, maybe 500, 600, or even 700 in front of our building, all jumping in unison to the beat of the very loud music. It was an awesome sight. All I could think was "WOW!!!".
I learned something about Carnaval from watching Pre-Caju. You can't fully appreciate Carnaval unless it is part of your culture. What makes Carnaval so special for Brazilians is the freedom to whatever one feels. No one judges anyone else (or least not very much or for very long). Anything goes and whatever a person does is forgotten afterwards. It is a time to throw off all restrictions and enjoy complete freedom. In ordinary life, one must always (or used to always) observe convention and Catholic doctrine. Carnaval is the time to escape that. If you haven't grown up subject to those types of restrictions on behavior them you can't really understand what it means to throw them off the way people do during Carnaval.
On the downside was the crime and violence. I saw the police arresting some people. They weren't very gentle and bystanders had to run out of their way lest the police trample them. I think most of the arrestees were pickpockets and purse snatchers, but a few were drunken guys fighting. My hostess' father said it was worse on the first day. The police were beating up many people. Two of the ladies I met and a hotel clerk I chatted with said they disliked Carnaval specifically because of the violence. One claimed that every year people are killed.
The story about Pre-Caju is that the Salvador Carnaval is so good that the residents of Aracaju go to Salvador and no one attends its own Carnaval. So they moved it up a few weeks and called it Pre-Caju.
