Dozens of people gathered Saturday night at the Haile Village Center to connect with Brazilian culture through food and drumming by Bloco GNV at a Carnaval event hosted by Samba Brazilian Kitchen.
Carnaval is one of Brazil’s largest celebrations on the eve of Lent. The event features massive parades and samba dancing, an Afro-Brazilian technique.
This is the second year Samba hosted a Carnaval event, according to Erica Gonzaga, one of Samba’s owners who’s from Brasilia, Brazil.
Gonzaga said many Samba regulars asked the restaurant to do a Carnaval event.
She said Carnaval celebrations help the Gainesville Brazilian community feel less homesick and expose others to their culture.
“It’s open to the community, so it's not just Brazilians, it's whoever wants to come,” Gonzaga said.
She said the restaurant is a passion project for her and the other owners, as it’s not their main job.
“We truly just really wanna be able to be those ambassadors for Brazilian culture and bring the food, the music, and kind of a place where people can either feel like they're home if they're Brazilian, or if they're not familiar with brazilian culture, get to know brazilian culture,” Gonzaga said.
Rachel Diaz, 43, a Gainesville realtor from Rio de Janeiro, came to celebrate Carnaval because she said Samba has the best Carnaval party in town.
Diaz said Brazilians didn't have a restaurant to go to in Gainesville for many years. The only Brazilian restaurants nearby were in Ocala or Orlando. Now, when Brazilians miss home, they can go to Samba, she said.
“Food brings us together,” Diaz said. “We grow up around the kitchen, running around– Brazilians are very interactive…we hang together as family.”
Diaz said another important aspect of the event is giving her son the chance to connect to his heritage.
“He plays with other kids on the playground, he dances, he can see my culture, which you don't see any other place in Gainesville spreading Brazilian culture like this,” Diaz said.
Danillo Nisio, from Brasilia, Brazil, a UF political science PhD student, said he came to celebrate Carnaval because he loves Samba and says it's a meeting point for Brazilians.
“Being far from home, this is where we get to know other Brazilians and to celebrate our culture,” Nisio said.
He said it’s important for every migrant community to keep ties to their homeland, celebrate their own culture and remember where they came from.
Trent Kysar, a Jacksonville resident, came to the event because his Brazilian wife lives in Gainesville.
“She's from the south of Brazil, so this is a big cultural thing. And you know, I try to be involved in the culture and see all of our friends and acquaintances,” Kysar said.
Kysar highlighted the importance of in-person events. He said much of today’s interaction happens online, and while people may feel connected through social media friendships, they often lose meaningful in-person connection.
Nicholas Bennett, a financial advisor in Gainesville came to enjoy the night as his Brazilian friend invited him, he's gone to Samba since their opening night and his sister lives in Brazil so he has that connection to the culture.
Bennett said his favorite part about the event was the music, people laughing and seeing everyone meeting strangers.
He said one thing he admires about Brazilian culture is the friend and family dynamic.
“Everyone is always together, it’s not very much scheduled, it's just everyone makes time to hang out with friends on Sundays or lunches,” Bennett said. “It’s very family and friend oriented, whereas here it’s very scheduled out, everyone's busy all the time, where it's a little bit more laid back in Brazil– which I like a lot more.”
Contact Ornella Moreno at omoreno@alligator.org. Follow her on X @ornellamorenom.
Ornella Moreno is a senior journalism student with a concentration in psychology in her first semester at The Alligator. She covers El Caiman Ave. Previously, she worked as a radio anchor for WUFT Noticias. In her free time, Ornella enjoys doing yoga, reading and going to the movies.
