The Rio de Janeiro carnival reaffirmed its commitment to inclusion and diversity, taking the Marquês de Sapucaí to the public this Saturday (21), opening the parade of the 2026 champions, Embaixadores da Alegria, the first samba school in the world dedicated to people with disabilities. Celebrating 20 years of existence, Embaixadores da Alegria brings together around 1,200 members, including people with and without disabilities.
The proposal of the association’s founders, Paul Davies and Caio Leitão, is to use culture, samba, art and education as instruments of social inclusion, expanding opportunities and breaking down stigmas. This year’s samba theme, “20 years of joy opening doors to diversity”, is written by Pretinho da Serrinha and Fred Camacho. The drums have 280 rhythm players.
In the wing dedicated to mental health, the highlight was the Centro Psiquiátrico do Rio de Janeiro (CPRJ), a unit managed by Fundação Saúde, under the administration of the State Department of Health of Rio de Janeiro (SES-RJ), which has been parading with Embaixadores da Alegria since 2009.
This year, 45 members participated in the CPRJ wing, including health professionals, medical residents and patients from the institution’s projects, including the musical group Harmonia Enlouquece, formed by psychiatric patients, which will celebrate 25 years of existence next April, Bem-arteiras, the Elderly Care Program (Pater) and the Income Generation Program.
With 65 songs recorded and a fifth album in preparation, provisionally called The Fifth of Hellthe group has had around 70 members throughout its history.
Resilience
The general director of CPRJ, psychiatrist Francisco Sayão, highlighted that the limitations of disability do not impede the ability to feel joy.
“Being on the Avenue is affirming that no one is alone. Illness may impose limitations, but it does not define the ability to feel joy, create, coexist and occupy spaces. When we parade together, we show that it is possible to overcome difficulties, overcome the fear of judgment and break with the label of incapacity. Carnival gives us this collective strength, each one believing that they can have fun and show the world that mental health is also a power of life”, he said.
Located in Gamboa, a neighborhood in the central region of Rio, CPRJ focuses on listening, culture and patient protagonism, becoming a reference model for the mental health sector. The unit broke with exclusionary practices and invests in activities that keep users in constant interaction.
Mental health was also represented at Ambassadors of Joy by the Institute of Psychiatry of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Ipub/UFRJ), the Philippe Pinel Municipal Institute and the Dona Ivone Lara Cultural Institute, strengthening the public psychosocial care network in the state.
