Rio'sWorkers-theExcludedfromtheCelebration

Image description: The image is a black-and-white engraving. At the center, there is a female figure dancing with a large drum above her head. She is dressed in colorful clothing, including a straw hat. Around her, several grotesque and distorted figures are in motion, appearing to be dancing or fighting. The scene seems to take place in a festive setting, but it also carries elements of horror and surrealism.

At first glance, the images that circulated in the city's newspapers during carnival week in 1919 seem to represent a democratic and harmonious celebration in which everyone, each in their own way, joins the festivities.

But was the 1919 carnival really so democratic? Weren't there any conflicts and tensions? Was no one excluded from this celebration?

Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph of two rows of people dressed in festive attire. On the left side, six women are arranged side by side, all wearing white clothing with black-and-white details. They are holding an umbrella decorated with flowers. On the right side, four women are also arranged side by side, all wearing striped clothing with black-and-white details. The women are in an outdoor setting, with trees and buildings visible in the background.

According to some newspapers of the time, the “flu carnival” — as the 1919 carnival was called — was far from harmonious or egalitarian. The increase in working hours during the 4 days of revelry, with no change in wages, outraged railway and commerce workers, who went so far as to write to the periodicals in the hope of getting the issue to resonate throughout the city. The March 3, 1919 edition of the newspaper Correio da Manhã features, amid the headline about the effusive carnival, a small column highlighting a letter of indignation written by the railway workers of Central do Brasil, who were forced to work during the days of celebration. From the news item, titled “Os condutores da Central e o Carnaval” (“The Central Line's conductors and Carnival”), it is clear that the train conductors were far from pleased at having to transport the revelers who crossed the city's suburbs to celebrate downtown. The engineers were outraged by the work schedule for the festival days: the considerable increase in train traffic directly impacted the stations' operating hours and, consequently, the working hours of the conductors who operated on the railway line.

During carnival week, the workday went from 8 to 12 hours, which heightened the tension between the train drivers and their superiors, who organized the schedule. Those who had been scheduled were outraged at the way the schedule had been made.

The hope of the train engineers in writing the letter was that, through the newspaper, their indignation would reach the railway line's superiors, and the schedule would be redrawn more fairly, without anyone being exploited during the holiday.

The March 1st edition of the Gazeta de Notícias carried a report exposing the exploitation that commerce workers would suffer during carnival week, especially in the city's bars, bakeries, and restaurants. A decree by mayor Paulo de Frontin authorized, even against the law, that commercial establishments in the city remain open until 1 a.m. during the days of revelry - including on Sunday, when these establishments were not allowed to operate.

Image description: The image shows an old black-and-white newspaper. At the top, there is a large, prominent headline, followed by smaller subheadings. The main text is left-aligned and written in Portuguese. The letters are clear and easily legible. There are no additional images or illustrations on the page.

The newspaper appealed for the mayor to reconsider the decision and put the well-being of the workers - who would end up working up to 14 hours - above the city's economic interests. It's worth noting that during the Spanish Flu epidemic, trade had been hit hard, and a good part of Rio's stores remained closed for months. Carnival, therefore, was seen as a moment of reopening, and business owners saw it as a way to overcome the crisis of the previous months. In both scenarios, whether during the epidemic or during Carnival's economic reopening, Rio's workers were the ones who suffered the most.