Of the 3,800 meters of the Carnatal circuit, 3,000 meters take place around the streets of Natal.
The truck carrying the band slow moves around the Corredor da Folia (2 x 400 meters) and then goes on around the streets; a complete tour takes around 2 hours.
All the streets in the neighbourhood of Carnatal (not only those streets the blocks pass by) are taken by people. People go not only to party to the sound of music, but also to flirt, to see their idol artist live, to meet other people, to drink a beer, etc.
Only people who pay a fee can get close to the trucks (the fee is exchanged by a t-shirt, which uniquely identifies the corresponding bloco and truck). Photos above show that the organizators take some precautions to avoid non-payers, such as creating a human rope all around the truck.
There are many people who can not afford or do not want to pay for an abadá, or to get into the Corridor; these people just enjoy the party following the band trucks from a certain distance.
A term was coined to describe these people: pipoca (which means pop corn in Portuguese).
Certain parts of the circuit are on wide streets (particularly Avenida Prudente de Moraes), and one can party right beside the truck.
