A world where red and blue are competing against each other in a  fantastic performance of music, dance, chanting, fireworks, singing, beautiful  young people in dazzling costumes, and beating of drums.

We had been sailing for almost 2 weeks, first through the Caribbean, then into the Atlantic   But this was the highlight of the cruise, sailing on the mighty and legendary Amazon river.

The cruise would wind up in Manaus,  a city known as the Paris of South America in the 19th century because of the elegant houses of the wealthy rubber barons and the stunning opera house they had built in this city 1000 miles up the Amazon river from the Atlantic.   We had stopped at several river towns to explore, see local entertainments, meet the people and buy some of their colorful handicrafts. We also learned about the local flora and fauna.   Santarém and Alter do Chão had been fascinating  and the people were welcoming.  In Santarém there were many beautiful parrots, and it was in Alter do Chão that we saw our first sloths.

Many of the citizens were walking around the town with these animals, and it seems they had made pets of them.  One of the locals made our cruise director, Andrew, take a picture with a sloth.

But now we had arrived in Parintins (pop. 80,000) a city of magic and mystery  located on the right bank of the Amazon river on the island of Tupinambarana about  420 km (261 miles) east of Manaus.   Parintins is a bustling city with busy shops, a beautiful cathedral and many motorcycles, bicycles, and scooters.    The people take an immense pride in their city and their festival.  The “Festival Folclórico de Parintins” takes place the last three days of June every year.  It is held in the Bumbódromo, the huge  purpose built stadium that holds 40,000 spectators. For six hours  each night there is the incredible spectacle of singing, dancing, beating of the drums, chanting, fireworks, giant floats and decorations.  This is a huge festival incorporating some of the legends, rites, and rituals of the indigenous people of the Amazon forest.

For the tourists, a small 2 hour sampling of this astonishing festival is given throughout the year. From the ship, we went to see the 2 hour performance. The local people were delighted to see us and wanted to practice their English with us.  I noticed some teenage girls wearing T-shirts that said “English School”.  Curious, I walked up to Gláucia, her cousin Ynessa, and their friends Paola and Simone and started talking to them.  They were students at the English School, which is an English language school run in the town by Catarina Picanço , or as she would later tell me “they call me Kathy”.  The girls studied with Kathy three times a week in her one room school  equipped with a video, computer, and air conditioning.  These classes were supplemental to the English classes they took in their regular school.

The girls told me about the performance I was about to see.  I learned that there is an intense but goodhearted rivalry in the whole town during the festival.

The girls, their teacher Kathy, and I would become very good friends.

The performance was spellbinding.  We were amazed at what we were seeing.  The drums, dancing, and costumes were like nothing we had ever seen before.  And this was just a small sampling of what takes place every year on June 28, 29, and 30, a festival that has been described as “an outdoor opera in the middle of the Amazon forest”  This is a big celebration of the indigenous culture of the people of the Amazon.