February 21, 2023, 12:10 PM
February 21, 2023, 12:10 PM
The carnival of the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro came to an end this Monday, after two nights of exultant parades full of creativity, splendor and joy at the full return of the festivities after the pandemic.
Guided by the frenetic rhythm of the samba before more than 70,000 viewers, six groupings Tuesday morning crowned the shows at the sambadrome.
Photos: AFP
And they spared no boldness: on the second day of parades they exhibited amazon animals and mythological characters on a giant scale, a light show with drones in the sky, and even a float with fountains from which wine gushed out among dozens of polyamorous couples in ancient Rome.
“It’s been the best experience of my life,” said English Bethany Robson, 32, who traveled from Australia, where she lives, to dance at the Sambódromo.
This year, Brazilians celebrate their favorite holiday with special enthusiasm, after the pandemic of the Covid-19 will force the annulment of the 2021 edition and would restrict that of 2022, held exceptionally in April.
“Carnival is about resistance, after all that Brazil has been through. It’s amazing to be a part of this,” Robson said.
Many carnival lovers are also celebrating the end of the term of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who cut funds for culture and belittled this popular festival.
His successor, the leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da SilvaHas promised value the artistic class of the country, starting with the restitution of the Ministry of Culture, which had been reduced to a lower-ranking secretariat.
– ‘The culture of an entire people’ –
“Carnival represents the culture of a whole people, and lately, the freedom of expression of our culture was repressed,” said costume designer Carla Andrea Barbosa, shortly before going on the parade.
Total, 12 “schools” they performed between Sunday and Monday, each with several thousand members, including dozens of tourists who pay several hundred dollars to be part of the carnivalesque delirium.
The groupings have between 60 and 70 minutes to seduce the jury and get points in categories as parade theme, lyrics, percussion, costumes, floats and staging in general, in a contest whose winner will be known this Wednesday.
One of the highlights of the night was gate, the oldest active samba school in Rio, which is fulfilling 100 years and celebrated with a parade about its own history.
The Portela school summarized its 100 years of history. He showed period costumes / Photo: AFP
The popular group amazed the public by exhibiting 1920s period costumes a drone show that wrote “Portela 100 years” in the sky, and imposing floats in the shape of an eagle, symbol of the “escola”.
Celebrating the religious and popular festivals of the world throughout history, Vila Isabel drew attention with an imposing articulated sculpture of the catholic knight and saint Saint Georgewith a futuristic aesthetic and whose dragon released smoke from its mouth.
Vila Isabel represented Saint George with a gigantic chariot and a dragon that released smoke from its mouth
And Beija-Flor vindicated the blacks, women and indigenous as “true protagonists” of Brazilian independence.
The first night of parades had already been a glitter bath, feathers and tributes to samba strongholds such as Zeca Pagodinho and Arlindo Cruz, as well as the state of Bahia and the African roots that influenced the Brazilian carnival.
The Beija Flor samba school, as it passes through the Sambódromo/Photo: AFP
The Rio mayor’s office estimates that Carnival will attract a total of five million people to the city, including the street event that was once again fully celebrated in the city’s neighborhoods for the first time in three years.
In economic terms, this will mean $us 880 million, with a planned hotel occupancy greater than 95%.
In the state of Sao Paulo, the party was overshadowed by tragedy: at least 40 people died over the weekend and dozens were still missing after heavy rains on the northern coast, which welcomes thousands of visitors during these festive dates.
The Sambadrome brought together approximately 70,000 people per night
