The best kept secret of the Brilhetes de Anchieta group is close to being revealed. There is less than a week left until the group of 38 girls and women kicks off the ball this Friday (13), when the group’s entire outfit will be known in detail. The costume was prepared with the utmost discretion over the course of six months.
The bat-bolas are groups of masked people who wear colorful themed costumes and play carnival on the streets of the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. An indispensable part of the costume is the rubber ball tied to a stick.
They became one of the main artistic expressions of carnival. Very different from the past, they no longer scare or chase children, although the sound of rubber balls hitting the ground remains the same.
Updating the tradition, when the garage gate of the brilhetes headquarters opens, to the sound of fireworks and lots of funk, the batte-bolas will parade down the street displaying their 13th year costume.
There, there will be children aged 3 to 58 years old, with different occupations.: teacher, caregiver, nursing technician, firefighter, student, researcher at cultural institutions, among others.
Brilhetes de Anchieta women’s batting group prepares for Carnival 2026, in Anchieta, north of the city. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
Second family
The cultural producer and leader of the brilhetes, Vanessa Amorim, founded the group in 2013. Previously, she paraded as a soccer player in her father-in-law’s Turma do Brilho, founded in 1991 and now managed by her husband. As time passed, she said, she and other women decided to compete on the streets.
“I always saw the girls helping [os companheiros]carrying the flag, looking at children, and they are at the front. Women were always in the position of mother and wife and never as players.”
Vanessa Amorim, cultural producer and founder of the women’s batting group Brilhetes de Anchieta, which is preparing for Carnival 2026, in Anchieta, north of the city. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
The group also became a way to develop bonds. Alexandra Cunha, 44 years old, mother of three children, says that the glitters became her second family.
“It’s a great emotion to make what you’re going to wear. Glittering, attaching the seals to the coats, the boo…”, said the housewife. “On the day we leave, with the kickoff ready, we cry with emotion.”
Student Ana Júlia Guimarães, 17 years old, will parade for the first time, together with her mother.
“When I was little, I was very scared of football, but three years ago, my mother joined the group and I joined,” she said.
The teenager says that she enjoys working in the shed. “The process of putting together the clothes, the exit, is a really cool experience.”
For the long-awaited departure, dance sound teams have been hired, and the group is also opening a bar, with the intention of covering remaining costs.
In addition to going out in Anchieta, in the north of Rio, the Brilhetes and Turma do Brilho, owned by Vanessa’s husband, appear in blocks in the center or south of Rio, as well as attending the departure of batsmen from other neighborhoods and cities.
Brilhetes de Anchieta women’s batting group prepares for Carnival 2026, in Anchieta, north of the city. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
Tribute to Conceição Evaristo
In 2026, the Anchieta group pays homage to the Minas Gerais writer Conceição Evaristo, who turns 80 in November this year. She is the author of phrases that inspire brilliant people ─ many of them black women ─ such as the motto “They agreed to kill us, but we agreed not to die“.
The quote is printed on a t-shirt from the group’s “kit” (a blouse, shorts and socks worn under the costume or at events). Vanessa Amorim says that the intention was to celebrate Conceição while she was still alive.
“Conceição is an artist who has been writing forever and was only recently noticed”, highlighted Vanessa.
“She is a retired teacher, leaves a community for Rio, a black woman whose story needs to be known and revered”, he adds.
In 2025, the class paid homage to Marilyn Monroe, a talented artist who ended up being exploited as a sex symbol. In previous years, they brought themes such as mother nature in the costumes.
Barracão das Brilhetes, in Anchieta, north of the city. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
Whimsical costumes
Every year, Brilhetes de Anchieta invests in new resources, such as LED lights and special paintings to stand out.
In 2026, Vanessa revealed that the mask, which completely covers the members’ faces, was hand-painted, color by color, a job that took weeks. Most of it was done in the backyard of his house, the brilhetes’ shed or headquarters, as it is called.
With homemade costumes and hand-painted details, Brilhetes de Anchieta is preparing for Carnival 2026. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
This is where both the get-togethers and costume preparation take place throughout the year, as well as the departure. That’s where they wear the complete costume: puffy jumpsuit and mask that guarantee anonymity, glitter coat (covered in glitter), boob, flag, balloon, sock, glove and stylized shoes.
To finance the costumes, the group commits to monthly payments. In the case of glitters, there are ten installments of R$150, not counting important items such as sneakers and essence for each one.
The “smell” of batting is one of the hallmarks of the cultural event and, this year, the women’s scent will be strawberry. A batting costume can cost between R$1,500 and R$3,000.
Glitters apply essence to the costume, a traditional element of football matches in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
Lack of recognition
The batting groups are extremely organized, according to the Tourism professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), Caroline Bottino. With the possibility of competing for public notices, they needed to register to operate.
The State’s financial support, however, is less than necessary and much less than the investment in tourist and central areas of Rio.says Caroline, even though batting was recognized as Cultural Heritage in 2012.
For the teacher, the bate-bolas decentralize carnival, as they hold the party in the suburbs, but they only exist due to the resistance of their members for generations.
“It’s a very strong cultural manifestation of the suburbs, like the samba schools, which are in peripheral communities”, he highlighted.
However, for the expert, the lack of support for the party “exposes the segregation of investments in the party”.
Sparkles wear socks; Ball bat costumes have several layers and cover the entire body Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
“Rio’s carnival has the right address and is increasingly designed to attract tourism”, he criticized.
This year, the dancers asked the city hall to accept remote registrations for the annual costume contest, which will take place on Carnival Tuesday (17), in the center. To this day, representatives must send someone in person in person, in the morning, to register groups for the competition, which is unfeasible for many groups that live far away.
“For us, it’s very difficult, because, from here, we leave by train, and it can take 1h, 1h20. It’s very complicated to go there and then come back to get the costume. It’s far”, explained Vanessa Amorim, who wants to participate.
Brilhetes de Anchieta women’s batting group prepares for Carnival 2026 on Rua de Anchieta, north of the city. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
“We made a high-quality costume and we want to be able to show it off and get recognition,” he said.
Riotur, the branch of the city hall that organizes the carnival, approached by Brazil Agencydid not provide updated information about the competition and did not comment on criticisms about the centralization of investments until the closing of this report.
