Abstract
Recife's carnival has always been of interest to Gilberto Freyre, who worried particularly about the influence of the rhythm and the practices of Rio de Janeiro's festivity on that of Recife. This article examines this theme by relating it to Freyre's ideas about the formation of Brazilian society. It considers the sociological critique of Freyre's important works in order to analyze how the author locates representations of Recife and Rio de Janeiro in opposite poles of the pair tradition and modernity. The relationship between frevo and samba provides a new perspective to Freyre's recurrent and significant discussions on the themes of 'adaptation', 'transregional influences' and 'balance of opposites'.
Keywords
Gilberto Freyre; Carnival; Tradition; Samba; Frevo