Carnival in the years of lead: surveillance over Império Serrano and its composers (1969-1982)
Censorship. Carnival. Samba Schools. Império Serrano. Dictatorship.
This dissertation analyzes the action of the military regime, primarily focusing on censorship, surveillance and monitoring of Rio de Janeiro's cultural organizations, particularly concerning members such as composers, carnival artists and carnival directors, in order to understand how the agenda and action of the dictatorship manifested within the public entertainment vehicles of the city, in which the carnival of the samba schools is located. The Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Império Serrano and its composers is used as a case study, highlighting instances of censorship that occurred multiple times during and before the military regime, especially from 1969 onward, months after the implementation of Institutional Act-5. To provide a more concise context of the period and the facts presented, we resort to a brief overview of the history of samba and the cultural organizations in Rio de Janeiro, in order to emphasize the ruptures and continuities in the State's means of control over them.