The behemoth sound trucks known as electric trios are a Brazilian innovation that amplified music and effectively did away with front-row seats — making Carnival more accessible. In the seven decades since the first one hit
From
Their appeal has never been just the novelty of amplification. Their steady, constant advance meant anyone, rich or poor, could get close enough to the music to feel it throb through their body, said
“It was very loud ... and marvelous!” Salgado said by phone, laughing. “I think that's why there's all this frenzy: The sound dominates you and intoxicates you.”
But long before these walls of sound took
It was a 1929 Model A — the Model T’s lesser-known successor — imported from the
In 1950, Osmar, as he is universally known, and his friend Dodô, a radio technician and fellow amateur musician, outfitted the
The duo repeated the stunt the next year, this time with a third musician, and so called themselves the Trio Eletrico.
The term stuck, and was applied to all mobile stages that rolled across
They started featuring Bahia’s top artists, like Veloso, who clambered aboard one built specially for him in 1972 that resembled a spaceship. They became launchpads for the careers of musicians, including
“It was a great revolution in the Carnival of the people, the Carnival of the street,” Menezes said by phone from
That popular spirit is at the heart of Carnival, which isn’t just about cutting loose; it also represents the subversion of established order and roving street parties are a manifestation of the people taking control of the city.
Salvador’s trios were a guiding light for Rio when street parties reemerged after
“Compared to
Perhaps the best known of all the trios was the Dragon.
But the Dragon was a handful. Its 30-meter (98-foot) length made cornering a feat, and at 5.5 meters (18 feet) tall, it often snagged power lines and toppled utility poles when touring to Rio or
Bordonal and his siblings founded their company to build sound trucks in their tiny hometown in Sao Paulo’s rural interior, Cravinhos.
Their first trio upset the order of things about 35 years ago, with a wild street party for the working class that lured even the well-heeled to forgo a private Carnival soiree, Bordonal said. The police, and the soiree's organizer, were furious.
Roughly a quarter-century later, the Dragon caused fresh ruckus.
“When it got to Cravinhos ... it entered the first street, and it pulled down two poles right away," Bordonal said.
He modified the Dragon’s axles to make cornering easier and reduced its height — but extended its length to 34 meters (111 feet). Bordonal eventually sold it, and has since built a bigger trio whose 200 speakers blasted
But Salvador’s vast fleet makes it the unrivaled kingdom. During Carnival this year, as many as 70 will plod through the swarming crowds each day, Edington said. Rio has roughly that amount through all of Carnival, according to its tourism agency.
In a tribute to the trios' forebears,
Coming full circle from the imported
Leitte, who once sang atop a trio for seven hours straight, intends to bring a Salvador-style Carnival to
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