The cement and steel structures of the Sambadrome came to life again, after two years of involuntary sleep due to the pandemic. When the first school set foot on Avenida Marquês de Sapucaí on the night of this Wednesday (20), for the Gold Series, the official start of the off-season carnival in Rio de Janeiro was given.
But before the schools, the privilege of debuting on the dance floor belonged to the members of the old guard, carrying the banners of each association, singing the composition Old schoolby Dicró: “I am old guard, the backbone of samba”.
One of the mandatory precautions this year would be the presentation of proof of vaccine against covid-19, required of everyone to enter the parade site. However, as reported by the Brazil Agency found, people were passing through the turnstiles without having to present their vaccination passport.
In the order of the parades, the first school to resume the Sambadrome was Em Cima da Hora, at 21:50, bringing the plot 33 – Destination Dom Pedro II, a re-edition of the 1984 Carnival, when the school paraded in the debut of the Sambódromo by group 1-B, former second division. Samba weaves a chronicle of the train journeys faced by workers to earn their living in the capital. Dom Pedro II was the name of the train station that, in 1899, was renamed Central do Brasil.
Em Cima da Hora opens the 2022 Carnival Gold Series parades in Sapucaí – Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil
Second to parade, Acadêmicos do Cubango, from Niterói, entered with great vigor, with all the components singing the samba, which raised the stands. She came to tell the story of actress Chica Xavier, who acted in more than 50 soap operas on television and debuted at the Theatro Municipal do Rio in 1956, in the play Orpheus of Conceiçãoby Vinícius de Moraes.
The school of São João de Meriti, Unidos da Ponte, this year chose the theme Santa Dulce Dos Pobres – the Good Angel of Bahia, developed by the carnival artists Rodrigo Marques and Guilherme Diniz. The objective was to tell the story of the saint and present her legacy of social works.
Porto da Pedra, from São Gonçalo, bet on the plot The Hunter Who Brings Joy, to honor mother Stella de Ochosi. The nephew of the important ialorixá of Bahia, obá Adriano Obiodun, is one of the composers of the school’s samba-enredo.
União da Ilha, which fell to the Access Group in 2020, chose the plot At the Crossroads of Life, Between Alleys, Streets and Alleys, Luck Is Cast: Save Yourself Who Can!in order to exalt the faith for Our Lady Aparecida.
Unidos de Bangu, on the other hand, chose the plot Got Castor in the Headin homage to the bookie Castor de Andrade, intertwining the life of the patron of Carnival and football with the history of the Zona Oeste neighborhood and Bangu Atlético Clube.
The last scheduled to parade on the first day of the Gold Series was Acadêmicos do Sossego, with the plot Shamanic Visions. The carnival artist André Rodrigues created a shaman to lead the public through his visions.
This Thursday (21) it will be the turn of the other schools of the Gold Series to parade at the Marquês de Sapucaí: Lins Imperial, Inocentes de Belford Roxo, Estácio de Sá, Academics from Santa Cruz, Unidos de Padre Miguel, Academics from Vigário Geral, Império from Tijuca and Império Serrano.
