Carnaval, cultura e cidade: um estudo sobre o bloco carnavalesco “As Virgienses” de Vigia de Nazaré – Pará

Abstract

This study aims to understand the relevance of the carnival group “As Virgienses” in the context of the Pará carnival, as an urban sociocultural practice, and to reflect on its implications for a significant cultural identity of Vigia de Nazaré (PA) amid Modernity.Carnival, as one of the most significant expressions of popular culture in Vigia de Nazaré and the State of Pará, reflects historical processes and social dynamics that go beyond its festive dimension. In 2025, upon reaching 40 years of existence, “As Virgienses” illustrates a journey marked by transformations that engage with concepts of identity, culture, and city, among others, in postmodernity.The study of this carnival block allows us to gain an understanding of the city, engaging with the dimension of post-modernity, as the epicenter of the municipality's economic life, a vector of transformation, lifestyle, city as a spectacle, space of cultural production and reproduction, of inclusion, and a social phenomenon contributing to the development of post-modern society. The block is not only a space of celebration but also a phenomenon that integrates the municipality's economic life, connecting lifestyles and establishing Vigia as a stage for cultural production and reproduction, social inclusion, and development. Although “As Virgienses” preserves deep-rooted traditions, its constant transformation demonstrates an adaptation to contemporary demands. Bringing together performers from Vigia and neighboring municipalities, the group is characterized by cultural diversity, promoting interaction between the local and the global. This manifestation not only reinforces the collective identity of the city but also stimulates the local economy through creative processes and social representativeness. From a methodological perspective, the study follows a qualitative and ethnographic approach, where we assume the role of participant observer. Data collection, in addition to photography and field notes, included semi-structured interviews with eight members of the group, whose responses were transcribed using the Transcribe Me software and analyzed through content analysis, based on Bardin (2016).The theoretical framework is based on classical, international, national, and regional authors, among them, Hall (2005), Harvey (2016), Geertz (2008), Canclini (2008), Yúdice (2006), Cruz (2011, 2014, 2018, 2021.a, 2021.b, 2023, 2024), Silva (2015; 2019), Da Matta (1978, 1997), Giddens (2002), Wirth (1967), Simmel (1967), Rémy and Voyé (1992), Sánchez (2001), Sarraf-Pacheco et al (2015), among others. These references led us to an analysis of the articulation between identity, culture, and the city in postmodernity, contributing to the understanding of the role of the group as a sociocultural and identity phenomenon in the riverside city of the Amazon in Pará – Vigia de Nazaré.This study indicates that the “As Virgienses” group is a significant cultural identity in Vigia de Nazaré in the postmodern era. Conceived as a fragmented, plural identity subject to constant reconstruction, it highlights the space-time compression amid the tension between the global and the local. As a space of freedom and performative expression constructed and reconstructed, the carnival of Vigia de Nazaré, analyzed from a contemporary approach, is recognized for its interpretative, hybrid, and economic dimension of culture.