As soon as I knew I was going to move to South America, Melissa and Tyler decided to come visit me for Carnival. After some peer pressure we convinced Emily to join and Trip SA2K11 was born! Emily's coworker Jordan happened to be down here the same time and ended up crashing at our apartment in Rio. The 5 of us came to be known as Team Win (thanks Charlie Sheen).... and win we did!
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| crowds filled the strand in Ipanema |
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| partying in the streets of Lapa |
Carnival in Rio was literally one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Everywhere we went in the city was a giant party... “Sorry we party!” was our motto for the trip. The streets and beaches were completely filled with people celebrating. We followed blocos in Ipanema and Copacabana and partied in Lapa. As always Rio did not disappoint!
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| aerial view of the Sambódromo |
The highlight of the week was definitely the
Samba Parade at the Sambódromo. The Sambódromo is the "stadium" of samba. It consists of the Parading Avenue (the samba run-way) and several independent concrete structures for the spectators (the so called sectors) along both sides of the Parading Avenue. Made of concrete, this stadium has been a permanent resident of Rio since its inauguration in 1984. Empty for the majority of the year, this area comes to life during Carnival! It is truly magnificent and overpowering, lit up with special effects on Samba Parade nights, filled with thousands of cheering spectators.
The Rio Samba Parade is very distinctive from all other street parades held around the world. It started as street festivities with groups of people parading through the streets playing music and dancing. Later, the Carnival parades in Rio developed into a competition between the samba schools. Preparation for the Samba Parade starts months in advance, as each samba school mobilizes thousands of supporters who will create the various parts of the school's display. First, the theme of the year is chosen. Then the school's
samba song of the year is selected through competition, while the school's Carnival Designer creates the costumes and the floats.
It was very apparent that every school's parade requires a highly organized and designed execution. Each school has about 3,000 to 5,000 parading members all dressed in elaborate costumes. The costumes are extremely imaginative, colorful, elaborate and detailed. Covered in mirrors, feathers, metallic cloth, silk and sometimes gems or coins, etc… the costumes are truly incredible!
We arrived at the Sambódromo around 11pm, by then our section of the grandstand was quite full. Luckily we managed to secure a spot at the top and ended up having a great view of the show! We watched five schools perform. All were incredible! We danced along with so much energy and joy (even after the rain started) until 6am! This night was definitely an incredible experience! See below for highlights:
Imperatriz Samba School
Theme: “A Imperatriz adeverte: Sambar faz bem a saude” (Imperatriz warns: Dancing samba is good for your health)
Portela Samba School
Theme: “Rio, azul da cor do Mar” (Rio, blue as the sea)
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| Avitar float |
Theme: “Esta noite levarei a sua alma” (This night I will take your soul)
This was most definitely one of our favorite schools! Their whole theme was different movies...Em and Jordan were in heaven!
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| Tom Brady waving to wife Gisele |
Theme: “Mitos e Historias Entrelacadas pelos Fios de Cabelo” ( Myths and Stories Interwined by Hair)
Portraying a modern Venus with flowing tresses and a golden mini dress, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen blew kisses to thousand of roaring fans as the featured performer of the Carnival samba club Vila Isabel. The group's elaborate entry was sponsored by Procter & Gamble Co., whose Pantene shampoo line has Bundchen as its representative. Tom Brady stood in the VIP section cheering on his wife. We took a lot of photos of the two!
Mangueira Samba School
Theme: “O filho fiel, sempre Mangueira” ( The constant son, always Mangueira)
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| Gabe's in the upper right hand corner - count down 4 guys! |
While we were waiting for this final school to being it started to rain. Had it been any other school that was going last we would have probably left. However, Mangueira was the school we came to see, therefore we were staying till the very end! The reason being Mads’ brother Gabe was performing in the in bateria (drum ensemble) for Mangueira. It was obvious that this school had several stands as the granstands were still packed with supports cheering on the school. As they began to play the rain stopped and the sun began to rise. It was quite magical! By the time the parade ended it was fully daytime. This night/morning will definitely be a memory I always treasure!
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| The rain stopped just as the sun began to rise |
For more photos
click here. Please note: Many of the photos from the Sambódromo were taken by Tyler and Jordan on their awesome camera.
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