Who is Boi Caprichoso?
I´m one of the two main “boi” (bull) performances in the Parintins Folklore Festival. I have a rich history rooted in Amazonian culture and traditions. My performances are known for their vibrant displays, intricate choreography, and focus on themes of Amazonian folklore, indigenous culture, and social issues.
My Story
The Boi Caprichoso defends the colors blue and white. Its symbol is a blue star, which it displays on its forehead. It is also known as “O Boi de Parintins” and “Touro Negro da América”.
The Parintins bull is the popular, spectacular, and creative auto, the reinvention of the myth, the legend of the enchanted bull that dies and comes back to life, rediscovering the Amazonian culture. He travels through the forest and its corners, incorporates the mythical and regional legendary universe, besides valuing rituals, tribal celebrations, customs, and popular tradition. To its repertoire are joined the defense of the forest, the strength of the simple and solidary people, and the essence of life in the sustainable Amazon.
Life sounds with the Marujada, summarizing the love that pulsates in the hearts of the blue-skinned people. In June there is a party and Parintins reveals itself in verses, poetry, and singing. The toy bull seduces the crowds and frames with a broad smile the face of each caboclo who wears blue and white, the colors that rock the popular party of Boi Caprichoso. He moves his head, dances, plays, is loved, arouses passions, translates the purest and simplest emotion that is born in the chest, invades the soul, brings an infinite joy that does not pass and makes you feel an intense fire that spreads over the heart. The velvet ox bewitches, ravishes. It recreates our love, our life, our history, infecting the world with the rhythm of the drums, with dance, with magic, with tradition and poetry. Seduction, fascination, enchantment. A storm of ideas, a granary of creativity, an explosion of feelings, adrenaline that shoots at the touch of the drum, shaking the chest, the earth, life. Pure magic, pure energy, joy, songs, melody. It is Caprichoso, to feel, to translate, to thrill, to play, and to fall in love.
A centennial passion
Oldest photo of the Caprichoso bull from the 1950’s (Photo: Reproduction/Internet)
Founded in 1913, by the hands of families from the Northeast of Brazil who put down roots here and, until today, play and participate in the legacy of their ancestors. The game was born in the backyards of the wooden houses, under the shade of leafy mango and chestnut trees. Surrounded by mysteries and by the people of the forest, it didn’t take long for a shaman to be responsible for the resurrection of the most beloved ox of the farm.
The verses of greeting and praise, which sounded strong in the voices of Cid and Gonzaga, with the appearance of the opposite, soon turned into strong challenges. The fuse was lit for the rivalry between the blues and the outsiders! People passed as they always do, but our little ox didn’t, he was just welcomed by his new owner, a new family that traditionally became the guardians of the ox, responsible for organizing the outings of the ox in the streets of Parintins. They were carpenters, fishermen, hunters, caboclos, residents of the riverside neighborhood called Francesa, of another called Palmares, of Aninga, of the Center, of all corners of Parintins, that is why it is Boi de Parintins, of all Parintins!
In 1965, the first folkloric festival of the city. Created by the Catholic Athletic Youth, to help reform the cathedral. In 1966 the bulls were invited, and year after year, we participated in the festival, helping to build the most beautiful temple in the city, which is why it is such a strong symbol, so present in our presentations. It can be said then, that it is a festival born from the caboclo’s faith, where an ox born and sustained by the belief, by the strength and by the creativity of the capricious caboclos is present. There is life in this cloth toy, yes, there is life, because there is love and passion. It is a passion that has overcome the limits of time, from the nostalgia of the taboos to the strength of the arena, the Caprichoso Ox is alive and eternal in our feelings, a centennial passion.
Individual Items
To ensure fairness in the competition, the performances are rigorously evaluated—from musical harmony to the main characters’ stage performance. Below are all the elements that make up the festival:
Item 1 – Presenter:
The host, master of ceremonies, and spokesperson for the show who introduces the competing items to the audience.
Evaluation Criteria: Block A. Individual. Mastery of the show and audience, verbal fluency, diction, interaction with the crowd, attentiveness to the development of the performance.
Item 2 – Lead Singer (Levantador de Toadas):
Performer of the soundtrack of the show.
Evaluation Criteria: Block A. Individual. Interpretation, pitch accuracy, diction, vocal timbre and technique, variety in interpretive choices.
Item 3 – Marujada:
The percussion groups that accompany the songs—foundational to the show. Marujada is part of Caprichoso; Batucada is part of Garantido.
Evaluation Criteria: Block A. Collective. Rhythm, cadence, balance in the combination of instrument sounds, rhythmic variation, tuning.
Item 4 – Indigenous Ritual:
An artistic representation of an indigenous celebration or rite, aligned with the Boi-Bumbá show.
Evaluation Criteria: Block C. Artistic Structure. Visual, stage, and performance reconstruction of the proposed celebration or rite. Costumes, accessories, and visual organization as a whole; visual and stage representation of the song performed during the ritual.
Item 5 – Banner Bearer (Porta-estandarte):
Performer who carries the symbolic banner of the Bumbá.
Evaluation Criteria: Block B. Individual. Dance and performance, costume, interaction between the performer and the banner, skill and movement awareness, body control, perception and use of stage space.
Item 6 – Master of the Boi (Amo do Boi):
Represents the farm owner who chants verses according to the show’s theme.
Evaluation Criteria: Block A. Individual. Vocal timbre, pitch, clear diction, ability to improvise melodies and verses, poetic quality.
Item 7 – Little Farm Girl (Sinhazinha da Fazenda):
Represents the daughter of the farm owner in the traditional Boi-Bumbá play from Parintins.
Evaluation Criteria: Block B. Individual. Dance, performance and progression, costume, grace and lightness, interaction with the Boi-Bumbá, synchronized movements, stage presence.
Item 8 – Queen of Folklore:
Represents the diversity of Brazilian popular culture.
Evaluation Criteria: Block B. Individual. Dance, performance and costume, character development, movement skill and awareness, body control, spatial awareness.
Item 9 – Cunhã-Poranga:
A beautiful woman in Tupi Guarani (an Indigenous language), representing Indigenous peoples.
Evaluation Criteria: Block B. Individual. Dance, performance and costume, movement awareness, body control and expression, spatial awareness.
Item 10 – Boi-Bumbá (Movement/Evolution):
Articulated sculptural bull—the central symbol of the Parintins festival—controlled by performers called tripa do boi.
Evaluation Criteria: Block B. Individual. Performance aligned with the song, control of the bull and stage space, variety in movement repertoire.
Item 11 – Toada (Lyrics and Music):
The popular musical genre of Parintins’ Boi, serving as the literary-musical foundation of the festival.
Evaluation Criteria: Block A. Abstract. Melody, lyrics, harmony, arrangement, interpretation.
Item 12 – Shaman (Pajé):
Archetype character of the healer/shaman/spiritual leader, based on the sacred, mystical, and mythological references of Indigenous peoples.
Evaluation Criteria: Block B. Individual. Character and performance composition, body awareness and skill, movement variation, stage presence, dramatic and choreographic performance, character relevance and design.
Item 13 – Indigenous Peoples:
Performers representing various ethnic groups of the Amazon and/or Brazilian territory.
Evaluation Criteria: Block C. Collective. Costumes, staging, visual representation, synchronized movements, visual organization, performance evolution aligned with the songs, stage presence.
Item 14 – Tuxauas:
Performers portraying Indigenous chiefs, wearing elaborate headdresses.
Evaluation Criteria: Block C. Collective. Thematic suitability of headdress and costume, balance and harmony in visual composition, stage presence, synchronized evolution during performance.
Item 15 – Regional Typical Figure:
Scenic and allegorical artistic structure representing the regional identity of the Amazonian people in their diversity.
Evaluation Criteria: Block C. Artistic. Recreation of Amazonian ethnic and cultural diversity, organization of visual elements, costumes, props, allegories, visual and scenic representation of the song performed.
Item 16 – Allegories:
Artistic structures that serve as scenic support for performances.
Evaluation Criteria: Block C. Artistic. Thematic appropriateness and symbolic coherence, meaningful use of visual elements (forms, colors, textures), artistic harmony and balance, finishing and movement.
Item 17 – Amazonian Legend:
Scenic and allegorical structure that narrates an Amazonian cultural tale within the show’s context.
Evaluation Criteria: Block C. Artistic. Visual and performative recreation of cosmologies that guide daily life and beliefs, costume and set design, representation of the song performed, visual aesthetics and craftsmanship.
Item 18 – Cowboys (Vaqueirada):
Performers representing cowboys—the historical guardians of the Boi-Bumbá.
Evaluation Criteria: Block C. Collective. Thematic suitability of costumes, hobbyhorses, and spears, visual balance and harmony, synchronized movements and rhythm, stage presence.
Item 19 – Crowd (Galera):
Fans in the free side bleachers who perform synchronized and organized choreography during the show.
Evaluation Criteria: Block A. Collective. Enthusiasm, synchronization, interactive participation, visual composition, choreography, creativity.
Item 20 – Choreography:
Choreographed movements performed by the dance groups during the show.
Evaluation Criteria: Block B. Collective. Narrative coherence, spatial organization, performance progression aligned with the songs, synchronization, rhythm control, body and stage awareness.
Item 21 – Organization of the Folkloric Set:
Flow and organization of the performance within the show’s context.
Evaluation Criteria: Block A. Collective. Visual ensemble of scenes in the show, and the arrangement of their diverse elements.