The "Imperatriz" school
The testament of the gypsy Esmeralda is a booklet written by the poet from the Paraiba region Leandro Gomes Barros.
The book is a kind of guide to interpret dreams, read in the lines of the hand, a treatise on astrology and contains other resources to predict destiny.
A popular, joyful and festive parade.
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The school "Unidos Da Tijura"
The school offers a historical and mystical journey to Portugal through a tribute to the legends and popular stories of Portugal.
Dotted with numerous fables, the theme explores the mysteries and popular legends that influenced the formation of this nation.
The «Fado» a typical Portuguese musical genre plays a central role around the colors, rhythm and steps of this typical dance .
The parade presents all the nobility of Portugal and the history of this nation
The "Grand Rio" school
The show is developed around the book “Meu destino é ser onça” by Brazilian novelist Alberto Mussa.
The book tells the story of a character named Rás a descendant of the Tupinambás, a Brazilian indigenous tribe.
The parade explores the symbolic significance of the panther in Brazilian culture, especially in the traditions of the Tupinambás.
The school "Salgueiro"
The school pays tribute to the Yanomami people, an indigenous community that lives in the Amazon region of Brazil.
In Yanomami the title of the theme «Hutukara» means «the original sky from which the earth was formed».
The parade tells the story of the culture and traditions of the Yanomami people, as well as the challenges they face today in their struggle to preserve their lifestyle and environment.
The school "Beija Flor"
The school pays tribute to Rás Gonguila, an artist, musician and dancer who marked the history of the Maceió carnival at the beginning of the 20th century.
The theme tells the story of a magical journey through time and space where real characters meet for the first time, guided by the light of spirits and ancestral.
The parade highlights the nobility of Maceió, Nilópolis and Ethiopia, bathed in colors and rhythms
The school " Porto Da Pedra
This year, the school chose a cultural theme. The parade revolves around the medieval almanac called «Lunário Perpétuo».
Written in Spain in the 14th century, it arrived in Brazil 200 years later, thanks to the development of printing that made it accessible to the greatest number.
The most read book by the people of Nordeste.
In its parade, Porto da Pedra celebrates Brazilian culture and especially all the energy and colors of the Nordeste region
Our Carnival Parade
We sit in our numbered seats on concrete bleachers.
We brought our cushions for the long evening.!!
We arrived at 9pm ... Little by little the place fills up while the "sound and light" tests are organized.
The show begins with a magnificent and grandiose fireworks, it is the kick-off of the parade. Everyone gets up to watch the start of the first school to the rhythm of samba.
Let’s go for a colorful show. We are captivated by the beauty and the overflowing
imagination in the making of the floats and costumes that are for some of them real pieces of art, made of an arrangement of feathers, colored glass imitating precious stones.
Limitless creativity, make this show an original avalanche of surprises, luxury and energy.
To this, must be added 300 percussionists who shake the ground and tens of thousands of wild spectators who shout and sing. All these emotions are relived at the passage of each school.
We leave the sambodromo at 4 am and go to bed at 5 am.
It is the most beautiful spectacle we have ever witnessed ... No qualifier is strong enough to express our feelings
Carnival finances
The expensive parades of the 12 samba schools are now financed largely by private companies and the town hall.
But many still receive financial assistance from the «capos» of the clandestine lottery games, called «bicheiros», which once financed the parades entirely.
For the cariocas, this festival is one of the most important of the year.
It also attracts tourists. The town hall accounts for more than 2 million each year.
Hotels in Rio are for the most part complete, with insolent occupancy rates of 96 to 100%.
The event, which officially lasts one week… and 50 unofficial days (impossible to identify all the informal street orchestras that parade), generates according to the city hall of Rio more than 800 million euros for the economy of the city.
Nearly 70,000 jobs are created and generate more than 36 million euros in taxes.
More than 38 million people work informally. At each street corner, housekeepers,
workers, restaurateurs and doormen turn for a season into street vendors selling beers, water, hot dogs or costumes.
Carnival rules
Beyond the grandiose spectacle that is the carnival of Rio, it is above all for the schools of sambas, a competition with its rules, notes and ranking.
The groups parade in a social form called “samba schools”.
They are divided in groups at different levels:
The best schools parade in the special group (Sunday and Monday).
Group A (Friday and Saturday)
Groups B, C, D and E that parade outside the Sambodromo.
The regular parade time for each school is between 60 and 75 minutes. Statutory and compulsory
number of participants:
- Between 2500 and 4000 participants per school.
- At least 200 percussionists.
- 70 Bahian. Men are prohibited in this area.
- The opening committee must have between 10 and 15 participants.
- a maximum of 250 principals per school.
With regard to the floats :
- Between 5 and 6 floats must be presented and no more than one double float.
- Their maximum fixed size will be 8.5 metres wide and less than the television tower
located at the end of the parade, or 9.3 meters
- The safety of float members must be ensured by means of guardrails and safety belts.
- They must all be equipped with a towing ring to evacuate them in case of problems.
Other important rules:
- No animals allowed in parade
- Exposure of genitals, even painted, is prohibited.
- Wind instruments are prohibited except for drum manager whistles
- No advertising for a trademark
Origin of the Carnival
Carnivals were for centuries one of the forms of mass celebrations practiced by the Greeks in honor of the God of wine.
The Romans resumed this tradition with festivals held in honour of Bacchus and Saturnalia, during which men spent the day getting drunk, and where masters and soldiers used to exchange their clothes.
Later, the Roman Catholic Church made this tradition a feast preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent in the Christian calendar.
The Rio Carnival celebrations, which run for a week until Ash Wednesday, are one of the most publicized events in the world with parades that occur throughout the city and especially in the Sambodromo.
In this stadium specially designed to host carnival demonstrations, twelve schools of samba compete for 4 days for the title of champion.
Samba dance and music have been associated with Brazilian carnivals since 1917. Samba originally from Africa was introduced to Brazil by slaves who found in this music a comfort during times of adversity.
ROAD BOOK 174
At the Sambodromo
Finally it is the day to attend the parade.
We leave the apartment for dinner at the restaurant before joining the "Sambodromo".
The night will be long, the show is scheduled from 10 pm to 4 am.
We find a restaurant on Copacabana where a neighborhood bloco is organized.
We are surrounded by carnavaliers parading behind a chariot on which an orchestra is positioned .
A tohu-bohu invites himself to our dinner, we have trouble getting along ... A taste of the evening.
On the advice of several people we bought our round trips by metro in advance, the safest and fastest means of transport.
We reach the entrance of the metro which is almost inaccessible ... We find ourselves in a melee where we jostle to get to the gates. Fortunately we had the tickets!!
We arrived on the crowded dock and board a full car where we must step over the coolers and cross groups to find a refuge.
A hubbub in Portuguese accompanies us until our exit.
It takes us 1 hour to reach our platform .. We pass by carnaval floats and already we are amazed.
Nice surprise, our seats are well located.
The Sambodromo de Rio was built on either side of the Marquês de Sapucaí avenue to hold more than 80,000 seats. The 700 metres of the Sambodromo de Rio run come alive during the five nights of Carnival.
MAVROS ODYSSEE
