O Trio Elétrico (The Electric Trio)
 

      The first "trio elétrico" went out the Salvador streets in 1950 . It was an old Ford T, released in 1929, with two speakers on top. During the carnival weeks, the car's owner, Osmar Macedo, now at 73, and a friend    of him, the late Adolfo do Nascimento - whose nickname was Dodô -, always played "frevos", a musical      style created in Pernambuco, another Brazilian northeastern state.
      They achieved a huge popularity and soon the old car was replaced by a  van  and  became  known as Trio Elétrico de Dodô e Osmar. In 1952, the Fratelli  Vita  soda  factory  spounsored  the  couple's new project and gave them a truck. Along the following years, other trios were created in Bahia and the carnival trucks turned into a sort of trade mark to the local parties.
      Now, the trios play every musical genre, from    reggae to classical, in modern instruments. They entertain carnival balls, provide musical background to political conventions and even to rodeos.
      Trios elétricos sometimes  play  for  a Maracanã (the bigggest stadium  in  the   world, located  in  Rio   de Janeiro) and a half - something like 300,000 people - in a single performance. To accomplish that, they    carry even  27 tons  of  sound  equipment. The  sophisticated  ones   have   230   speakers, 32 horns, 80 tweeters, 54 amplifiers and two  computers   to   guarantee the   musical instruments' tone and the appropriate volume. The whole system may have 30,000 Watts and may   send   the  sound  to  three miles. In addition, it has a fantastic light system, with over 12 light cannons and 900  colour lamps. To  make   the  system  work, they use 60 KVA lighthouses. An equipped supertruck like those costs US$ 1,2 million.