Bloco carnavalesco cafuçu e (contra)visualidades femininas das rainhas hors concours

Abstract

Without much preamble—going straight to the point, as one follows the carnival procession—this dissertation traces its path alongside the street carnival bloco Cafuçu, held in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. The research focuses on clues found in the visualities and (counter)visualities expressed in the performances of the hors concours queens—those who are beyond any contest, considered better than the competition—in order to understand (or not!) the visual representations of the cafuceta revelers who performed in the bloco between 2023 and 2025. To this end, the work called upon the collaboration (the HELP ME!) of notable thinkers who reflect on the concepts of carnival, such as Ferreira (2004, 2005), Bakhtin (1987), DaMatta (1990), Queiroz (1992), Minois (2003), Sodré and Paiva (2002), and Bergson (1987), the latter three embraced for their contributions to the understanding of laughter and the grotesque in festive contexts. It also draws on reflections on the concept of cafuçu (França, 2013; Soares, 2012; Magalhães, 2022), peripheral subjects (D’Andrea, 2013), and feminist theories (Butler, 2018, 2020; Hollanda, 2020). Through immersion as a participant in the bloco and analysis of images available on YouTube, various symbolic artifacts and modes of feminine expression within the Cafuçu were mapped and analyzed, revealing tensions between transgressive and normative dimensions that shape the bloco as a space of symbolic dispute. Drawing on a cafuçucartographic approach, this work interweaves images, documents, memories, sounds, and lived experiences, reimagining—both visually and textually, in light of Mizoerff’s perspective—the right to look at the Cafucetas. The study concludes that carnivals constitute territories of symbolic and bodily freedom, but also expose and reinforce social prejudices and norms rooted in a still-hierarchical society. In this context, the hors concours queens produce and parade plural (counter)visualities that defy singular or definitive interpretations.