Two colours share this town: red and blue. They cover the lampposts, the façades, the tricycles and even the cups in the cafés. Welcome to Parintins, set on the island of Tupinambarana in the middle of the Amazon, halfway between Manaus and the river's mouth. No road leads here: you arrive by air or by water, and cruise ships anchor off the shore before sending their tenders to the small port.

An island in the middle of the river-sea

From the deck, the Amazon looks here like a café-au-lait sea, so wide that the opposite bank can barely be made out. The tender crossing takes about ten minutes, long enough to watch dugouts loaded with fruit and the stilt houses lining the shore. At the quay, the town reveals itself right away: the main streets start from the riverbank, alive with motorbikes, carts and loudspeakers playing the tunes of the upcoming festivities.

Boi-Bumbá, a rivalry that keeps the town alive

Parintins owes its fame to one of Brazil's biggest popular festivals. Every year, at the end of June, the Festival Folclórico stages the legend of the resurrected ox, blending Indigenous, African and Portuguese heritage. Two camps have faced off for generations: Garantido, the red ox, and Caprichoso, the blue ox. Monumental floats, drums, dancers and giant effigies compete for three nights in the Bumbódromo, an arena built especially for this duel. The rivalry shapes all of local life: you are born red or blue just as you inherit a family name.

The show out of season

Not all ships come by in June, and the town has understood this. Near the landing, a hall welcomes passengers for performances that condense the spirit of the festival: feather costumes, percussion, dances and characters from the legend follow one another in a whirlwind of colour. The performers are the very same ones who parade in the Bumbódromo, and their energy does not flag in front of an audience of cruisers. After the show, they gladly pose in costume and let you admire the work of the workshops.

Strolling the red and blue streets

Beyond the show, Parintins is easily explored on foot. The Cathedral of Nossa Senhora do Carmo dominates the central square, where vendors offer cupuaçu juice and grilled skewers. The waterside market overflows with freshwater fish, cassava flour and fruits with melodious names: tucumã, pupunha, açaí. Artisans' workshops sell carvings and headdresses inspired by the festival, souvenirs unlike any other. Motorized tricycles, the local taxis, take you in a few minutes to the stilt neighbourhoods to glimpse the daily life of the Amazon's riverside dwellers.

The river as horizon

Save a moment to simply return to the water's edge. Double-decker ferries load hammocks and goods for Manaus or Santarém, herons patrol between the boats, and one obvious fact sinks in: here, the river serves as road, market, refrigerator and public square. The island's residents live with its rising and falling waters the way others live with the seasons.

Back on board

On the way back, the tender pulls away from a shore still beating to the rhythm of the drums. Red or blue, everyone leaves with their colour in mind and a tune stuck somewhere. The Amazon resumes its parade of logs and floating islands, and Parintins returns to its double passion, waiting for June when everything, once again, will be decided between two oxen.