So, here I am, in Rio de Janeiro for the past 3 days for the annual Carnaval. Carnaval, as spelled in Portuguese, is a 4-day celebration that starts on Saturday, and ends on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi-Gras. Carnival Sunday is seven weeks before Easter Sunday. The whole city of Rio actually stops during this period (It's officially public holiday for them) and Blocos or Block Parties just pops up in every neighbourhood.
This is what happens at the Samba Parade:
Seven samba schools march on Carnival Sunday, and seven more on Carnival Monday. Each samba school picks a particular theme. They display it to the audience in the format of a tropical mini-opera. A school has from 60-75 minutes to perform, with three to five thousand participants. They are distributed in alas or wings, with 6 to 8 floats for each school. Different wings and floats illustrate the theme chosen by the samba school
We have tickets to go see the Samba school perform tomorrow (Carnival Monday) at the Sambadromo and can't wait to see one of the Greatest shows on Earth. Let's just hope we can last for 10 hours sitting there on our disposable cushions :)
Photos of the parade to come in my next post
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