Trio Comanche

Origin

Salvador, BA

Years Active

1974

Genres

axé, samba-reggae, carnaval

Instruments

percussion

Biography

Trio Comanche, also known as Commanches do Pelô, was an afro block founded in 1974 in Pelourinho, Salvador, Bahia. It emerged at a time when the Salvador Carnival was driven more by the collective than by formal rules, and it became one of the important "Indian" blocks of the festival, a term used at the time for organizations that absorbed a large part of the Black population before the consolidation of afro blocks. The aesthetics of the block were strongly influenced by North American Indigenous people and western cinema, with costumes, war cries, and performances that referenced this culture.

Musically, Trio Comanche stood out for its floor percussion, inspired by samba schools. Throughout its history, the block underwent transformations, and with the strengthening of afro blocks, part of its revelers migrated to these new entities. However, the "Indian" blocks like Commanches continued to attract those who identified with this ancestry.

A tragic episode marked the history of the block and the Salvador Carnival on March 2, 1987. That year, the sound truck (trio elétrico) of Commanches do Pelô lost its brakes while going up the slope of Rua Chile, rolling backward into the crowd in Praça Castro Alves. The accident resulted in seven deaths and 25 injuries, becoming one of the greatest tragedies of the Bahia Carnival. This event led to greater inspection of sound trucks and the implementation of stricter safety measures, such as mandatory technical inspections and route restrictions.