Resumo. Luiz Beltrão, considered the father of folkcommunication, analyzed in his trajectory diverse forms of popular communication, from ex-votos until the carnival, mainly in Recife and Olinda. Considering that carnival has become a "Brazilian product" mainly related to Rio de Janeiro - although the carnival has European origin - this article draws a parallel between Beltrão's considerations about the carnival in the Northeast and the characteristics of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro through a socio-historical approach, explaining the origin of some forms of carnival manifestations that ended up becoming the embryo of the contemporary carnival.