Rio de Janeiro Travel Guide: Rio Carnival

February – March

Travelers to Rio would be shamed to miss the grand Carnival festivities, known as the “the greatest party on earth,” that take place for forty days before Easter and mark the beginning of the Lenten season. Known as Carnaval in Portuguese, this unabashedly outlandish and almost two-week-long celebration saw its origins in Rio de Janeiro in 1641 as a result of the bourgeoisie elite who began the tradition of holding balls and masquerade parties modeled after the fashion in Paris. Europe also has their own Carnival festivals, and the early Rio ones replicated those versions, but later integrated and creolized Amerindian and African elements as a result of Brazil’s changing demographic during that era.

The cordões (“strings” in Portuguese) pageant groups that today are known as the famous Blocos do Carnaval, were first introduced in Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century. Seen on almost every street corner of the city during this festive time, these celebratory “blocks” of people dress up in embellished, colorful costumes or special t-shirts that represent a theme, logo, or particular neighborhood. Within the groups are a music or percussion section that plays lively Samba music to liven up the crowds. The most famous blocos are: Cordão do Bola Preta bloco which is one of the most traditional groups that parades in the city center and last year saw 500,000 people in attendance; the parading in the city’s Botanical Garden, right below the Christ Redeemer statue’s arm is the Suvaco do Cristo bloco that when translated means “Christ’s armpit”; and finally the most traditional bloco in Ipanema, the Banda de Ipanema, sees a variety of spectators that range from Rio families to a large portion of the gay community.

The world-famous Rio Carnival parade began during the 1930s. It begins on Sunday evening and doesn’t stop until the early Monday morning hours. Up until 1984 it was held on Praca Onze, when it was finally moved to the immense Sambadrome exhibition center built specially for the Rio Carnival parade. During the off-seasons, the immense structure, which contains several buildings that create a circular open area in the middle, is used as classrooms for the local public schools.

Another way to spend these merry Rio Carnival days is to witness the famous Escolas de Samba (samba schools) during the parade or at the blocs. These samba groups practice year-round to provide a spectacular show that is sure to dazzle all your senses. Each school is actually competing against another for a grand prize at the end of the entire carnival festival. The schools attempt to construct the most colorful and outlandish floats and costumes, while performing samba musical numbers to rhythms set by the school’s bateria (band). Some famous schools include Mocidade Independente, Imperio Serrano, Academicos do Salgueiro, Unidos da Tijuca, and Beija-Flor de Nilopolis.

The manner in which these schools are arranged during the actual parade is very organized with the comissão de frente (first wing), a group of about 10 or 15 people who introduce the samba school and set the tone for the entire group. This first wing tells a short story through beautifully choreographed dance numbers and in spectacularly over-the-top costumes. They are followed by the abre-alas: the first float of the samba school. Destaques are the brave people who populate the float in very luxurious and expensive costumes that are extremely heavy more often than not. The star destaque sits atop each float and sings and dances during the parade’s entire duration on the runway. Other samba school roles include the porta-bandeira, the “queen” of the school who takes guard of samba school flag and has to be sure that it does not roll. She is accompanied by the mestre-sala, her “king”, whose main objective is to draw attention to his beautiful lady. Finally, there are the ala das baianas: a wing of the samba schools that are required to feature at least 100 female participants who march alongside their destaque counterparts.