By the end of 1918, Rio had counted more than 15,000 deaths from the Spanish Flu. "Its streets became the stage for macabre scenes, with corpses scattered across the sidewalks, being picked up by trucks like garbage bags. According to Carlos Heitor Cony, 'The fellow would start crossing the street vertically, in the enjoyment of exemplary health, and reach the other sidewalk horizontally, struck down by the Flu.'"
In the first two months of 1919, "there was a pause to mourn the dead and try to restore some normalcy in Rio. Then, on March 1st, the Carnival of resurrection exploded." The armistice of World War I combined with the end of the Spanish Flu gave the survivors of the epidemic many reasons to celebrate.
Democráticos parade on the streets of Rio in 1919. Careta magazine - National Library
Image description: This is an old photograph of a public event, possibly a funeral, given the funeral procession with a coffin covered by a white flag. The image is in black and white, with a crowd densely packed throughout the frame, from foreground to background. In the foreground, many people are carrying a rectangular object covered with white cloth, likely a coffin. The crowd is dressed in various colors, but mostly in dark and light-colored clothing. In the background, some buildings can be seen, one of which has multiple arched windows. On the right side, there is a street lamp illuminating part of the scene.Samba schools did not yet exist. There were blocos, cordões, ranchos, corsos and the so-called grandes sociedades, which paraded with large allegorical floats. In 1919, they chose the disease as their theme: "the Fenianos displayed a float with skulls representing the 'Spanish dancer,' surrounded by pierrots, harlequins and columbines. The Democráticos, in turn, presented a large cup with the inscription 'midnight tea,' a reference to the deadly drink that, it was said, was served to those given up for lost in order to hasten their farewell."
The "midnight tea" at the 1919 carnival. National Library
Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph. In the center, there is a large cup-shaped object with the inscription "A MEIA NOITE" on the upper part. This object sits on a square concrete structure. In the background, there is a leafless tree and old buildings. On the right, there is a sign with the inscription "CONCURRÊNCIA GRIPPE".Right after the devastation of the Flu came the desire to peek away from the sadness, and people started doing, thinking, and feeling unprecedented and even "demonic" things. "Between confetti battles and sprays of lança-perfume, cariocas were conceiving the 'children of Carnival,' who would be born in November and December." The debauchery was total. At the Catete police station, which covered Santo Amaro street, where the High Life operated, 2,000 cases of "defloration" were recorded!
Gazeta de Notícias - front page of the March 2, 1919 edition. National Library Digital Newspaper Archive
Image description: The image is a black-and-white newspaper page, dated March 9, 1910. The spatial layout begins on the left, where there is an extensive block of text, and moves to the right, where a large, prominent headline is located. In the center, there is an illustration of two people dancing with a giant drum. On the right, there is more text and a header announcing carnival contests and prizes.Era ilustrativa do momento a pornográfica ‘Marcha do Racha-Lenha’, na qual os homens diziam: ‘Na minha casa não se racha lenha’. ‘Na minha racha, na minha racha’, respondiam as mulheres, que acrescentavam: ‘Na minha casa não se pica fumo’. A réplica era a que imagina o leitor.
It seemed unbelievable that the stage of such euphoria was the same as that of the epidemic tragedy that had buried so many dead.
