Street vendors have a solidarity network to indicate Carnival blocks in São Paulo

If revelers have an informal spreadsheet with the blocks that are having the party in the capital of São Paulo, street vendors are also not far behind when it comes to finding a good place to pull over a cart full of drinks.

WhatsApp groups are booming with the exchange of information about the blocks that have become popular – and that are dry for a cold beer. In the absence of official programming, solidarity is essential.

“We never come with certainty. We go out looking,” says street vendor Rafael Lima de Oliveira, 32. On the street, the spirit of collaboration between them comes into play, stronger than the competition. “We communicate a lot,” he says.

Oliveira invested R$ 2,000 in drinks, which get ice only on the way between the east side, where he lives, and the expanded center, where Carnival takes place. This Thursday (21), he stopped on Barra Funda Street, where revelers gathered at Bloco do Amor.

Maid Rosenilda Rosa, 49, takes advantage of Carnival to supplement her income. She learned from a family group on WhatsApp that Bloco do Amor had enough people to make up for the subway ride from the east side. “We have to make do. I was unemployed for a while,” she said.

Rosenilda says that Grupo dos Marretas, on WhatsApp, has more than a hundred participants and is a little shy during this period. It is there that everyone helps each other in the struggle for sustenance, indicating good places to stop.

“I call about three, four and I know. Today, I walked a lot to get here”, said João Filho Gama, 52. Experienced, he has been working at the “sledgehammer” for 30 years. For him, the Festa do Peão de Barretos is unbeatable. “I’ve already sold R$2,000 in one night, in an outing”, he says.