Thursday, February 6, 1997
MUSIC:
Carnaval at the Palladium celebrates life through song,
costumeBy Claudia Castro
Daily Bruin Contributor
With all the grief that fills her heart, Maria Lucien is
organizing the happiest party in the world: the Brazilian Carnaval,
at the Hollywood Palladium.
Last year was a tough one for Lucien; she lost her 17-year-old
daughter and her only sister in the TWA crash in July. Pictures of
her daughter’s paintings fill the living room of her apartment.
However, even in this sad period, Lucien still finds strength to
organize Carnaval, a night-long celebration featuring music, food
and Brazilian culture.
Two bands will play during the festival  the Josias dos
Santos Carnaval Band and the Lula Afro Brazil, a samba-reggae band.
There will also be two "Samba Schools" teams that feature musicians
and dancers.
This year’s theme, "Carnaval Of Angels," was dedicated by Lucien
to the memory of her daughter Dalila and her sister Ana Maria
Shorter, wife of jazz musician Wayne Shorter.
"You can’t imagine how it has been," Lucien says about the death
of her daughter. "But then, there comes this passion, this
strength, and nothing can destroy it because I want my daughter’s
dream to continue. The Carnaval, I did it for her."
Despite all this attachment to the Carnaval and to Brazil,
Lucien is not Brazilian. She is a Portuguese-born woman with a
Brazilian musical soul. Having lived in America since 1959, Lucien
first embraced the Carnaval event at the Palladium in 1989. Prior
to that, it was a more community-type event with mainly Brazilians
participating in it. But Lucien has taken the event to another
level.
According to her, it has become the largest Brazilian Carnaval
outside of Brazil. Last year, 4,500 people were gathered at the
Hollywood Palladium, among them Americans, Persians, Israelis,
Latinos and of course, Brazilians.
The Brazilian Carnaval at the Hollywood Palladium is similar to
the Carnaval celebrated in ballrooms in Brazil. Decorated with
typical balloons and streamers, Carnaval is festive, but nothing
compared to parades in Brazil. "Brazilian Carnaval is the greatest
production I have seen in my life," Lucien says. "I have a passion
to understand how those people have such an organization (in
Carnaval); it is such a large process, and they seem so
disorganized."
Lucien also struggles for organization during the Carnaval at
the Palladium. "On Carnaval night, I have everything organized,"
she says. "But after 11 p.m., I lose control of everyone. Carnaval
has its own energy that we can’t control."
Luckily, Lucien has an American system to support this energy.
"On that night, I don’t even want Brazilians working," she says.
"Otherwise, they disappear."
Although music is the soul of Carnaval, costume plays an
essential part too. The Brazilian word for costume is "fantasia,"
which means fantasy. According to Lucien, Carnaval is an
illusionary world where people can give wings to their fantasies
 so Carnaval parade costumes are a must.
"Use your imagination," Lucien says. "Go to Frederick’s (Of
Hollywood), come in a nightgown, be sensual, glitter." But she also
warns, "This is not Halloween. It’s not scary. It’s about beauty,
sensuality, magic and fantasy. I don’t want you to be dressed as a
murderer, I want you to be beautiful."
Usually, ballroom Carnavals like the one at the Hollywood
Palladium don’t require a costume, but Lucien encourages people to
make the party a little more colorful. There’s even an added
incentive: the five best costumes will win tickets to Brazil.
All this beauty is not without a purpose. In the fliers that
promote the event, it’s written, "Bring your love or find your
love." Carnaval, a Christian festival celebrating the time of year
to feast, starts before the season of penance and lasts until the
commemoration of Christ’s death and resurrection. Thus, the
exaggerated freedom, Lucien explains. "It’s the only time of the
year that has no sin," she says. "There is total freedom of
friendship and love. … It’s all about love."
MUSIC: Brazil Carnaval ’97 at the Hollywood Palladium is on
Saturday, Feb. 8 from 8:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. General admission is $28;
with reservation, $35. For more information call (213)
852-7119.