CARNIVAL RIO DE JANEIRO 2012

Rio awash with revelers for Carnival street bash

By Gerard Aziakou | AFP – 5 hrs ago

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The Rio Carnival came alive Saturday with more than two million revelers in outlandish costumes staging a mammoth, samba-driven street festival in the city center.

Drawing the huge crowds, a day after legendary King Momo declared the Carnival officially open, was the Cordao da Bola Preta -- one of Rio's oldest and most popular blocos street parties.

While the eagerly awaited highlight of the Carnival, the parades of elaborately decorated fantasy floats and scantily dressed women in the Sambadrome, attract mainly the wealthy and foreign tourists, blocos are for all.

"Bola Preta is one of the most traditional blocs of the Carioca (Rio) Carnival and everybody participates,

particularly blacks (from the favelas)," participant Sandrah Sagrado told AFP.

"Bola Preta brings everybody together, people from all districts and neighboring towns," Denise Chagas concurred.

Organizers said 2.5 million people took part in the street parade that lasted nearly seven hours.

Police put the turnout at 2.3 million.

Spurred on by the pulsating samba beat of a marching brass band, Bola Preta fans strutted along Rio Branco

Avenue in outlandish costumes, from Cleopatra or Pope to clowns and cross-dressers wearing masks, bright red or fluorescent green wigs and oversized glasses.

Under sunny skies and in a good-natured atmosphere, men in baby diapers or wearing garish pink or green tutus danced and sang.

Others sported football star Neymar's famous Mohawk

hairstyle in multi-colored hues or tried to scare women in their monster disguises.

Black polka dots on white is the signature style for Bola Preta (black ball) outfits as, according to city lore, a

beautiful, curvy woman in a polka-dot dress was the inspiration for the bloco's name.

Igor Moreira, 23, and four friends came bedecked in a Winnie Mouse outfit,

complete with polka dot skirts, black stockings and tops.

"It's just for fun. This is Carnival, anything goes," he said with a giggle.

This year, the Bola Preta street show was wired by the city,

allowing it to use four sound trucks, one less than last year.

 

In 2008, as it celebrated its 90th anniversary,

Bola Preta was listed as a Rio Cultural Heritage along with

its signature song and Carnival classic "Quem Nao Chora Nao Mama" (The squeaky wheel gets the grease).

 

Some 171 street parties were scheduled across the "Marvelous City" this weekend and 400 during the

five-day Carnival, which officials hope will attract four million people, including 850,000 tourists.

Other Brazilian cities, including Sao Paulo, the country's economic capital, and Salvador de Bahia, the heart of

Afro-Brazilian culture, also celebrated the annual pre-Lent festival in style.

On Friday Sao Paulo held spectacular parades of allegorical floats paying tribute to Brazil's rich African heritage at its own sambadrome.

Meanwhile Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is recovering from cancer radiation therapy,

on Saturday thanked a Sao Paulo samba school for its planned tribute to his life but said he could not be with them.

"Gavioes da Fiel," the samba school of the Corinthians,

the Sao Paulo soccer team of which Lula is a die-hard fan, said earlier this week it would honor the popular

former president with a Carnival parade late Saturday extolling his life of struggle and overcoming the odds.

"From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful for your tribute in dedicating your parade this year to my life story,"

the 66-year-old Lula said in a video message released by his foundation.

The popular former president, who was released from a Sao Paulo hospital Friday after completing radiation

therapy for his larynx cancer, said he would not be able to attend on the advice of his doctors.

But he promised to watch the parade on television and root for his beloved samba school.

In Rio, the top 13 competing samba schools were to parade dancers, musicians and elaborately decorated fantasy floats at the renovated Sambadrome Sunday night and Monday night.

The contest between the Rio samba schools for the title of Carnival champion is watched with the same fervor as football matches in this soccer-mad nation.

Samba School Grande Rio: Carnival 2012

November 15, 2011 | Filed underEntertainment | Posted by Fiona Hurrell

By Fiona Hurrell, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – It’s just thirteen weeks until Carnival, the biggest, most anticipated event on the Carioca calendar, where samba dance parades, music and street parties go on all day, and, in most cases, all night. With the countdown clearly underway for the Carnival schools of Rio de Janeiro, rehearsals are in full swing and preparations are being made in anticipation of their big performances at the Sambódromo on Sunday, February 19th and Monday, February 20th.

G.R.E.S Acadêmicos do Grande Rio during Carnival 2011, image recreation.

G.R.E.S Acadêmicos do Grande Rio is one such school that will be practicing extra hard after a difficult year in 2011.

Established in 1988, Grande Rio is the most recent of the Special Group, consisting of thirteen of the most prominent samba schools in Rio, and also one of the most successful.

They represent Duque de Caxias, a satellite town of Rio de Janeiro and the third most populated area in Rio state. The school also has a station at the Monte Líbano Club on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, an area in Rio’s Zona Sul (South Zone).

In the last ten years of Carnival (with the exception of 2011), Grande Rio has come extremely close to winning. Having been crowned Vice champions in 2006, 2007 and 2010, the school has always been considered a serious contender in the competition.

However, on February 7th, 2011, disaster struck as a fire consumed Grande Rio’s premises at the Cidade do Samba (Samba City) and destroyed much of the interior including the parade floats and props. Grande Rio was the worst affected out of three schools which included Portela and União da Ilha. Estimates reported that the fire incurred costs of up to R$10 million in damages, causing a major setback.

G.R.E.S Acadêmicos do Grande Rio at Carnival 2011, image recreation.

Sadly, there was little time to make repairs and despite managing to put a performance together and parade, they were unable to officially compete for the 2011 title which was later won by Beija-Flor.

Consequently, 2012 will see the school return in fighting form, using the tragedy as inspiration for what promises to be a knock-out performance focusing on overcoming difficulties. The Enredo(theme) for this year is “Eu acredito em você! E você?,” meaning, “I believe in you! And you?,” words which perfectly sum up the positive attitude adopted by the contestants in light of past issues.

In October, Mary Melilo, winner of Brazilian Big Brother 2011, was chosen as Muse for Grande Rio. Her duties will include performing the club song in the 2012 parade.

Melilo spoke of her excitement to Caixa local news network, Caixas digital, explaining “It’s an incredible thrill. I’m already anticipating how it will be [at Carnival]. I will give it all that I can to do justice to this special school.”

Company President Jaydar Soares has also enlisted the help of notable costume designer Marcio Carvalho. Carvalho is quoted by Caixas digital as saying, “I noted that the presentation is important in the world of samba. It is an interesting universe.”

The school has a huge following, including a number of well known celebrities such as Brazilian actress Ellen Rocche, musician Arlindo Cruz and politician Helinho de Oliveira, who will no doubt be showing their support over the coming months and throughout Carnival itself.

Grande Rio will be the final school to parade in the Grupo Especial (Special Group) line-up on Monday February 20th. To find out more about G.R.E.S Acadêmicos do Grande Rio visit their website (in Portuguese).

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