Scolas do samba ready to dazzle at the carnival of Rio de Janeiro

The most anticipated moment of the carnival of Rio de Janeiro, the parade of samba schools, brings to the parade this Sunday and Monday its traditional excesses of feathers and sequins, but also a strong dose of social and political criticism. The authorities expect seven million people, including one and a half million tourists, to participate in the festivities.

According to the AFP news agency, it is the first carnival since the election of the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, led by a conservative wave and neo-Pentecostal evangelical groups that generally do not share the excesses of this popular festival.

In total, fourteen samba schools from the "special group" – the carnival elite of Carioca – will parade through Avenida Marqués de Sapucaí, better known as Sambódromo, telling a story through music , dance and their elaborate costumes.

And they are ready to walk the 700 meters of the parade even if the forecast of storms in this tropical summer are respected. The parades begin at 9:15 pm and last until the wee hours of the morning (the last must end, if there is no recoil, at 4:08 am!), Under the encouragement and applause of More than 70,000 Brazilians and tourists from Brazil and abroad, in one of the most popular festivals on the planet.

Women, Indians, religious tolerance

The highlight of this Sunday is the current champion, Beija-Flor. Last year, the school was crowned with a parade critically criticizing corruption and violence, preparing for this edition an autobiographical tangle, "The fables of Beija-Flor", intended to celebrate its 70 carnivals of existence .

They will also play the traditional Unidos da Tijuca – which will tell the story of the bread – and Salgueiro, who will pay tribute to Xangó, one of the candomblé gods, protector of justice, who promises to criticize the judicial system Brazilian.

On Monday, the two greatest champions will parade. Portela, who will seek her 23rd title by paying homage to Brazilian singer Clara Nunes, an icon of 70's music and the first artist of her time to publicly defend Afro-Brazilian religions. The traditional school has a special wing designed by French stylist Jean-Paul Gaultier.

The other, Mangueira, the green and pink group that won its 19th title in 2016 and enters the track with a story "B side" of Brazilian history, praising heroes and heroines black, Indian and poor, relegated to the second plan. flat in the traditional narrative.

Among them, he remembers the black adviser Marielle Franco, ardent defender of human rights in the favelas of Rio, riddled with bullets last March.

Vice-champion Paraiso de Tuiuti, who tackled racism last year and portrayed then President Michel Temer as a vampire – a critic of his labor rights reform – retains this year's tone of political criticism but with humor. the story of a folkloric character from the north-east of the country, goat Io Io.

Each school has up to 75 minutes to deploy in the Sapucaí between 2,500 and 4,000 members, as well as six fluid allegorical cars, to dazzle a jury that will punctuate categories such as percussion, costumes and the theme of the parade , among others.

For the third consecutive year, the samba groups are subject to budget restrictions: the grant received from the mayor's office has been reduced from R $ 1 million to R $ 500,000.

Marcelo Crivella, a former evangelical bishop elected in 2016, has repeatedly avoided actively participating in the traditional feast as predecessors. He was this year absent from the symbolic handing over of the key of the city to "King Momo", a stout man. and jovial who becomes the guardian of Rio during the holidays.

Apart from the strict contest of the sambadrome, which can accommodate about 72,000 spectators, since Friday a more informal party, sprinkled with music and alcohol: the "blockos" of the street, leading to crowds dressed in parades taking various parts of the city. .

In total, the authorities expect seven million people, including one and a half million tourists, to participate in this huge outdoor party.

Some 498 such shows are planned, 15% less than in 2018, when they were 608.

The traditional Cordao of Bola Preta, on the other hand, brought together more than a million people in the center of the city, during its 101st parade.

NTN24 Source

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