Bate-Bola - Rio Secret Carnival #029, 2008

Vincent Rosenblatt  

Bate-bola #029 - As Abusadas, Cidade de Deus, Rio de Janeiro 2008. Fine art print on baryta paper,18x27 cm - Edition 1/12. 

This evocative artwork captures an intriguing nocturnal scene on a dimly lit street, where three figures command attention. Two individuals, clad in elaborate, witch-like costumes complete with masks and tall hats, hold brooms with a ceremonious air. Their vibrant attire contrasts starkly with the shadowy urban backdrop, enhancing the mystique of their presence. Walking beside them, a shirtless man in shorts adds an element of raw, everyday reality, grounding the fantastical elements within a real-world setting. The cracked walls and modest structures lining the street suggest an environment rich with stories and hidden histories : we are in the favela of City of God, in Rio de Janeiro. The use of warm, golden lighting casts an ethereal glow, evoking a sense of ancient ritual and folklore: it's Carnival! This artwork seamlessly blends the ordinary with the mystical, inviting viewers to ponder the narratives woven into the fabric of this enigmatic tableau.

The series dedicated to Bate-Bola — the carnival of Rio's northern and western neighborhoods — transcends simple reportage: it reveals an aesthetic of trance, an alteration of perception in which the street becomes a sacred stage.

Bate-Bola is a carnival tradition from the outskirts of Rio: costumed groups with flamboyant masks, colorful capes, and bursts of sound parade through the streets, transforming them into an ephemeral theater. Drawing from multiple influences — from European Pierrot figures to Afro-Brazilian spiritualities and even pop culture — it condenses excess, invention, and collective vitality.

Vincent Rosenblatt does not photograph from the outside: he immerses himself, dances with the participants, capturing the visual lightning of the moment. Flashes, saturated colors, and tight framing convey the luminous violence of the carnival and open onto a hallucinatory experience. More than mere evidence, his images are icons: they erase the boundaries between document and vision, memory and apparition. This work forms a counter-narrative to the favelas, often reduced to violence by the media. Here, they assert themselves as centers of creativity and dignity.

Each photograph becomes a passage, a threshold crossed into an altered reality where the street is transfigured into a mythological stage. In this sense, Vincent Rosenblatt creates not only a living archive but a body of work fully situated within the field of contemporary photography, where popular art enters into dialogue with the avant-garde.

“I seek images that convey the trembling of reality… that moment of big bang, of original chaos when suddenly we are no longer in observation, but in enchantment."