The blocks called mega, because they usually bring together more than 100 thousand people in the pre-carnival and carnival parades in Rio de Janeiro, are finishing their preparations to meet again with the revelers. In the pre-carnival phase, the schedule of eight megablocks, a record in Rio de Janeiro, begins on February 4 with the Carousel of Emotions. The next day, Bloco da Lexa premieres. Chora me Liga will bring together revelers on the 11th and Bloco da Preta, on the 12th.
At Carnival, as in the years before the pandemic, Saturday (February 18) is Cordão da Bola Preta, which traditionally receives more than 1 million revelers. On Carnival Tuesday (21), it will be the turn of Fervo da Lud. The presentations extend until after the so-called momesco period. Closing the agenda of the megablocos, Bloco da Anitta performs on Saturday (25) and Monobloco closes the parades on Sunday (26).
Production
According to the Tourism Company of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (Riotur), the city hall of the capital did not transfer money directly to the blocks that will parade in the 2023 carnival. Specifications for the Rio Street Carnival will be covered by the amount of R$ 39 million raised through sponsorship. The publication of the Specifications for expressing the interest of companies in providing the service was in August, and Dream Factory is responsible for producing the street carnival in Rio.
With this, the megablocs will not need to spend anything on setting up health posts; availability of chemical toilets and toilets for people with disabilities (PCDs) at the parade venues; enclosure of parade areas and for the protection of monuments; monitoring towers; outsourced transit agents; assorted message boards; and cleaning service. The scheme for all block parades authorized by the city hall provides for the installation of 34,000 chemical toilets, 10% of which for people with disabilities. This number will be scattered along the paths where the more than 400 blocks of this year’s street carnival will pass, including the areas of the megablocks.
Structure
With high costs, the heavy presentation structure of the megablocks uses resources obtained from the private sector. Sponsorships from big brands are responsible for part of the revenue, which is further strengthened by events during the year, such as wedding parties, birthdays, corporate meetings and celebrations in cities in the interior of Rio, with amounts that are shared with the musicians and with the associations. President of Bola Preta, Pedro Ernesto Marinho told the Brazil Agency that the financial situation of the bloc, which was no longer balanced, was impacted by the pandemic. What guarantees the traditional association now is the sponsorship and partnerships that are agreed after formatting a project for the carnival.
Production
The production of the parades, according to Pedro Ernesto, is carried out by Liga Amigos do Zé Pereira, to which Bola is associated and which even organizes the project to arrange sponsorships and partnerships. “Bola Preta is no longer able to come out on its own, with its own resources, so we have to look for partnerships and sponsors and all of this has a project that needs to be done first, and it is prepared by the League of Friends of Zé Pereira. From the moment it becomes feasible, work begins in the field of arrangements for setting up the parade for Carnival”, he said.
The block, which once had 20 permanent employees, currently has only one who works as an inspector at a Bola farm in the Petrópolis mountains. Not even the musicians in the orchestra, always a highlight in the parades, have a contract. Pedro Ernesto said that Bola musicians, apart from Carnival, have private activities, such as bricklayers, lantern builders and many of them are retired military personnel who were part of bands for the Military Police, Firefighters, Navy, Army and Municipal Guard.
“When there is work, we call them and they come and life goes on, but they have a very strong emotional connection with Bola Preta. There are musicians who have been with Bola Preta for 40 years,” he said, adding that everyone is paid for the carnival performance.
For the president of Bola, the 2023 carnival has everything to be unforgettable. “Because there are two years without Carnival, people are anxious. I believe we are going to have a great carnival, with a record number of revelers in the streets. What we want is that, no matter how big it is, it is always a carnival of peace, tranquility, respect for others, for their fellow man, especially men respecting women. The no is no!”, he added.
Chora me Liga has ten permanent employees hired, but to work in the office which, during the year, organizes other events such as a presentation by the band from the block. For this, 25 musicians are hired, in addition to singers. During Carnival, temporary workers are hired, which, according to founder Marcelo Vital, will reach 500 people in 2023.
“To make the block viable, we carry out rehearsals and, throughout the year, sell the presentations to corporate events, weddings and end of year parties.” According to him, the resources from these events, added to the support of the sponsor, pay part of of the bloc’s expenses. “The rest we disburse”, he told Brazil Agency.
Vital also portrays the difficulty of the blocks caused by the pandemic, but believes that, after the period of absence from the parades in 2023, there will be more animation. “I think people are looking forward to Carnival. They haven’t had a carnival for two years and they’re going to discount this year.”
Concentration
The concentration of the megablocks, on each day of the presentation, is at 7 am, on Rua Primeiro de Março, in downtown Rio. The parades start at 8am and run until noon. According to Riotur, “the complete circuit has not yet been defined, but minor changes should be made to the route, which traditionally passes through Avenida Presidente Antônio Carlos [centro da capital]to facilitate logistics when the public disperses”.
Public
Riotur estimates that this year the streets of the capital will receive an audience of 5 million people. Initially, the forecast is that 456 parades will be held. The number, however, may change, because the processions depend on authorizations from public bodies and confirmation from the registered blocks themselves.
According to Riotur, this year 613 blocks of all sizes requested permission to parade. In 2020, the last carnival before the pandemic, there were 754 requests and 427 paraded. This year, the city hall adjusted the logistics of the party and reduced the number of parades in the south zone, which were relocated to other parts of the city, resulting in a smaller number than in 2020. That year, there were 110, and now there will be 94 parades for region.
Patrolling
The expectation is that the Military Police will officially disclose the security scheme for Carnival 2023 next week, but it is already certain that patrolling will be reinforced, and that the police will set up a blockade for inspections of revelers in the areas close to the places where they will parade. the megablocks and at the Sambódromo, as occurred in the New Year’s Eve.
