<em>Festança no Reino da Mata Verde</em> (1977), a series of scenes by Mamulengo Só-Riso which present traditional forms or characters and the spirit of the Carnival from Brazil’s Northeastern region (Nordeste), such as <em>bumba-meu-boi</em> (a folk tradition that enacts the cycle of the death and revival of a sacred bull), Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil. Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Dona Olinda Olanda and Diabos (Devils), characters from a scene in <em>Festança no Reino da Mata Verde</em> (1977) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
A <em>maracatu</em> scene in <em>Festança no Reino da Mata Verde</em> (1977) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (<em>maracatu</em>: an Afro-Brazilian performance held during the Carnival in Pernambuco representing the coronation of the black kings, protected by a large round parasol, surrounded by dignitaries from their respective courts; each <em>maracatu</em> group has a symbol generally depicting an animal, such as here, the “elefante”), Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil. Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
A <em>maracatu</em> scene in <em>Festança no Reino da Mata Verde</em> (1977) by Mamulengo Só-Riso denoting one of the Afro-Brazilian performance genres of Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil, especially during Carnival (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Rei e Rainha do Maracatu (<em>Ki</em>ng and Queen of <em>maracatu</em>), characters from a scene in <em>Festança no Reino da Mata Verde</em> (1977) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
A scene in <em>Festança no Reino da Mata Verde</em> (1977) by Mamulengo Só-Riso representing two choirs of shepherdesses, one choir dressed in red, the other in blue, from the <em>Pastoril</em>, one of the four main popular performances of the Nordeste with dance, theatre and music traditionally performed at Christmas time (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
A scene in <em>Festança no Reino da Mata Verde</em> (1977) by Mamulengo Só-Riso is the <em>Pastoril</em>, one of the four main popular performances of the Nordeste with dance, theatre and music traditionally performed at Christmas time, based on the dances and songs of the shepherdesses (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Professor Tiridá and Cabo, two <em>mamulengo</em> characters from a scene in <em>Festança no Reino da Mata Verde</em> (1977) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Professor Tiridá, <em>mamulengo</em> character from a scene in <em>Festança no Reino da Mata Verde</em> (1977) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Mamulengo puppets from Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda) called <em>caboclos de lança</em>, folk figures from the State of Pernambuco in Brazil linked to the Carnival and the <em>Maracatu Rural</em> (ou <em>Maracatu de Baque Solto</em>), also known as the “lanceiro africano”, “caboclo de guiada” or “guerreiro de Ogum”. Photo: Olívia Robacov
Caboclos de lança, from Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda), folk figures from the State of Pernambuco in Brazil linked to the carnival and the <em>Maracatu Rural</em>. Photo: Olívia Robacov
Caboclos de lança, <em>mamulengo</em> figures from Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Olívia Robacov
Figures from Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil) called <em>caboclos de pena</em> depict deified spiritual entities, Brazilians of mixed white and indigenous or indigenous and black ancestry, who teach spirituality, healing and concern for Nature. Photo: Olívia Robacov
Caboclos de <em>pena puppets</em>, from Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil), depict deified spiritual entities, Brazilians of mixed white and indigenous or indigenous and black ancestry, who teach spirituality, healing and concern for Nature. Photo: Olívia Robacov
Homem da Meia Noite (lit. Midnight Man), a giant puppet popular in the Olinda Carnival, and “lanceiros” (<em>caboclos de lança</em>), characters from Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Homem da Meia Noite (a giant puppet popular in the Olinda Carnival) and Zé Pereira, characters from Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Caipora (a figure of Amerindian mythology, “the one who lives on the forest”, a protective Nature goddess, protector of animals against hunters) and Capitão (“captain”, a puppet representing the landowner), two characters in Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Caipora (a figure of Amerindian mythology, “the one who lives on the forest”, a protective Nature goddess, protector of animals against hunters), a character in Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Denize Barros
Dragão (Dragon), a <em>mamulengo</em> figure from Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Members of the troupe of Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Members of the troupe of Folgazões & Foliões, Foliões & Folgazões (2002) by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Construction of giant puppets at Mamulengo Só-Riso’s Fábrica de Alegorias Gigantes (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Imperador Dom Pedro II, a giant puppet by Mamulengo Só-Riso constructed at the company’s factory, Fábrica de Alegorias Gigantes (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Imperador Dom Pedro II, a giant puppet by Mamulengo Só-Riso constructed at the company’s factory, Fábrica de Alegorias Gigantes (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
African sets by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Amazonian scenery and sets by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
“Carnaval Olinda” (Olinda Carnival), scenery and sets by Mamulengo Só-Riso (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Fernando Augusto Gonçalves
Fernando Augusto Gonçalves in the Escola de Alegorias (Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil). Photo: Passarinho

Brazilian puppet theatre. Created in 1975 by Fernando Augusto Gonçalves dos Santos, Nilton Moura and Luiz Mauricio Carvalheira in Olinda (State of Pernambuco), the oldest city in Brazil, Mamulengo Só-Riso is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mamulengo Só-Riso has become one of the most important puppet companies in the country, both for its longevity and the magnitude and impact of its work at the national level.

Mamulengo is the theatre of Brazilian popular puppets, made ​​by the people and for the people’s attention. Its development and conservation is maintained through popular artists, each known in their communities as mestre (masters) and called “mamulengueiros”. The purpose of Mamulengo Só-Riso is not to bear witness to mamulengo as a form of static theatre, crystallized, dead. It uses mamulengo as a starting point, assimilating its essential qualities, to know the spirit of popular performance and use of improvisation. But in its themes and forms, Mamulengo Só-Riso seeks innovation and evolution of the tradition of the living popular theatre, mamulengo, renewed from day to day.

That is why the shows of Só-Riso depend a lot on the public attending. They are based on improvisation, which unfolds in the performances. This results in a deep representation of the collective soul of the people of the Nordeste (Northeast), showing the opposing harshness of their existence, their irreverent explosions, and their systematic demonstrations of wisdom.

In Olinda, Só-Riso has created the Museu do Mamulengo, an international centre of reference, documentation, research and promotion of mamulengo. It also constructed its own theatre, dedicated to the puppet and especially the form of mamulengo. It produces mamulengo performances for adults and children, which it shows in all the regional capitals of Brazil. All performances are accompanied by music, dance and songs. Mamulengo So-Riso proves that it already masters the forms necessary for the establishment of the link between folk art and scholarly re-creation.

Over the past 39 years, Mamulengo Só-Riso has received some important awards. Still alive and flourishing, it maintains one of the most authentic and recent traditions of popular puppet theatre surviving in the world.

(See Brazil.)