What is the Parintins Folklore Festival?
On an island in the middle of the Amazon, a long way from any road, a small town stages one of the biggest spectacles in Brazil. For three nights at the end of June, the Festival Folclórico de Parintins fills the town's purpose-built arena, the Bumbódromo, with a contest between two rival teams: Boi Garantido, in red and white with a heart on its forehead, and Boi Caprichoso, in blue and white with a star.
Both are bois, bulls, and the contest is a form of boi-bumbá, a folk drama found across northern Brazil about a bull that dies and is brought back to life. In Parintins the story has grown into something enormous: each night, each boi has a few hours to perform with thousands of dancers, drummers and singers, towering mechanical floats of Amazonian creatures and legends, and songs called toadas, while judges score them on a long list of items and characters.
The festival began in 1965, to raise money for the town's cathedral, and the two bois first competed in it the following year. For decades it was little known outside the Amazon; its fame grew in the 1990s, and in 2018 the boi-bumbá of Parintins was recognized as part of Brazil's cultural heritage. The rivalry is total: the town divides into red and blue, and even Coca-Cola makes blue cans and signs for the Caprichoso side.
What to expect
The festival is three nights, Friday to Sunday, on the last weekend of June, with the result announced on the Monday.
Before
The town fills up
Riverboats arrive from Manaus and towns along the river, many of them with passengers sleeping in hammocks on deck, and the town hums with rehearsals, street parties and music from both camps.
Friday to Sunday
Three nights in the Bumbódromo
Each night, both bois perform in turn. The stars are the characters: the cunhã-poranga, the beautiful young woman of the tribe; the pajé, the shaman; the sinhazinha, the farm owner's daughter; and the bull itself, danced by a man inside a bull costume, all driven by the marujada or batucada, the great percussion sections.
Monday
The result
The judges' scores are read out and one side of the town erupts. The 2026 result was decided by less than a single point.
The crowd is part of the contest. Each side of the Bumbódromo belongs to one boi, and fans sing, dance and wave their colours on cue, a performance judged along with the rest. When the rival boi is on, its opponents' half of the arena is expected to stay quiet.
A Boi Garantido rehearsal on the Parintins waterfront
Photo by MTur Destinos / flickr · Public Domain
Planning your trip
Getting there
Parintins has no road connection to the rest of Brazil. Flights from Manaus take about an hour, with extra and charter flights in June. By river, fast boats from Manaus take around nine to ten hours, and the traditional riverboats, where you sleep in a hammock on deck, take a day or more.
Where to stay
Parintins has only a few hotels, which are booked long in advance. Many visitors stay on riverboats moored at the waterfront, which serve as floating hotels, or in rooms and houses let by local families. Packages from Manaus often bundle travel, lodging and arena seats.
What it costs
The arena holds about 35,000, and seat prices vary widely, from the general sections to reserved chairs beside the performance floor. Getting to Parintins is the main expense, especially by plane in June, and lodging is limited and expensive for the festival weekend.
Go like you know
- Pick a side. Wear red for Garantido or blue for Caprichoso, and sit in that side's section: mixing colours in the stands is frowned on.
- Learn the gestures. Fans of each boi have signature moves for each toada, and the people next to you will happily teach you.
- Stay quiet while the other boi performs; it's part of the rules.
- Brazil's other great June festival is São João de Campina Grande in the north-east, with forró and bonfires.
- For the great carnivals of the coast, see Rio Carnival and Salvador Carnival.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Parintins festival?
Over three nights on the last weekend of June, Friday to Sunday, with the champion announced on the Monday. In 2026 it ran from June 26 to 28. The 2027 festival is expected on June 25 to 27, to be confirmed by the Amazonas state government and the organizers.
Garantido or Caprichoso?
That depends on who you ask. Garantido, red, with a heart, has the most titles overall; Caprichoso, blue, with a star, won three in a row from 2022 to 2024 and took 2026 by a fraction of a point. Both have huge, loyal followings. Most visitors pick a side on arrival, or inherit one from the friends they travel with.
Can I visit Parintins outside the festival?
Yes. Parintins is a pleasant river town year-round, and the two bois' neighbourhoods, painted red or blue, and their workshops, where the giant floats are built, are worth seeing. Many Amazon river cruises from Manaus stop there. But the town only comes fully alive in June.
