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Looking for A Place to Stay While in Rio? Balls & Parties - Street Carnival Festivities - 2005 Planning Guide The
Samba Parade The Samba School Parade at Rio´s Sambodrome is something everybody has to experience at least once in life. The event is broadcast live to several countries, and all Brazilian states. Watching on TV is cool, but not half as much fun as being there. You have to mingle with the crowd, sweat, maybe even march with a samba school. Unlike Street Carnival the Samba Parade is not free. Tickets are actually quite expensive, but more than worth the investment. Fourteen special group schools march on Carnival Sunday and Monday, seven each night. The parade starts at 9 p.m. and goes on until sunlight the next day, around 6-7 a.m. This samba marathon is also a fierce competition. Each year a school is downgraded from special to access group, and vice-versa. In case you are getting completely mixed up, Samba Schools are not teaching institutions. A Samba School is an association of people from the same neighborhood, usually a working class community (or favela) in a suburban area. They get together on a regular basis for rehearsals and samba nights. Samba schools provide valuable jobs to the community, that is employed year-round in the production of costumes and floats. Each year schools choose a different theme. In the year 2000, for instance, schools highlighted different periods of Brazilian history, celebrating the country's 500th anniversary. In 2004, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sambodrome, samba schools were allowed to re-edit their favorite Carnival themes from the past. Samba Schools may take to the Parade anything from 3,000 to 5,000 members, and from 6 to 8 floats. They try to illustrate the theme chosen. All costumes and floats are original, made from scratch each year. You may think of it as a tropical opera, or rather, of several operas happening in a one night. A Samba School has a period ranging from 60 to 75 minutes to make it through the runway. This means that each member will actually spend only about 25-30 minutes tops in the Sambodrome. The experience is so intense, though, that the memories last a lifetime. Several aspects are judged by a jury of experts chosen by LIESA, the league of Samba Schools. Judges are strategically stationed in odd and even sectors, to make sure the schools do their best all the way through.The 6 schools that score best earn the coveted honor of marching again the following weekend, at the Winners Parade on Saturday. Of course all Cariocas consider themselves experts when it comes to judging a samba school. Many keep a personal score to compare (and inevitably disagree) with the final result. Cariocas support their favorite school just like they support their soccer team - with a lot of passion. In Portuguese you do not say you support Mangueira or Flamengo. You say what would translate simply to I am Mangueira or I am Flamengo. The Samba School In-between wings you there are floats (carros alegóricos), that carry special guests named destaques. Floats are a real feast to the eyes. Many have special effects - a bird with flapping wings, a dragon spitting smoke, etc. The size is limited by the narrow tree-lined streets that give access to the Sambodrome. Oversized floats would be at the risk of losing part of their decoration even before entering the runway, or getting stuck along the way. Floats may be motorized, and have mechanical parts.Most are
still pushed by men from the community, either in T-shirts, or
wearing costumes designed to blend in. Before ideas of
exploitation of cheap labor and other indignities start to pop in
your mind, try to understand that everybody is more than happy to
contribute in whichever way they can. Being a part of the samba
parade is an honor, and these volunteers would probably look
awkward in a baiana costume, anyway. Even though complete nudity is not officially allowed, sometimes floats carry topless or almost-naked beauties, male and female. You get the idea: a little body paint, lots-a-glitter, a smile... The best looking men and women are selected for these special spots.The right stunt is a guaranteed headline the following day, and some do not draw a line for a chance of few seconds in the spotlight. Other floatees have very sophisticated costumes. On the top of the float the cherry is usually a floatee in an impossibly heavy costume. They use cranes to get up there, of course. Imagine trying to climb a ladder with an extra 100 pounds on your back! Some alas are mandatory, and play a very important role in overall performance of the school. Velha Guarda is the group of men in the typical white suit and Panama hat, representing the malandro, a traditional Carioca character. They are usually the last ala to march, sometimes with their female counterparts. Ala das baianas is a wing with women dressed in big round colonial-style skirts. It is one of the most colorful and captivating of them all. These positions are reserved for ladies from the community, and their (very expensive) costumes are subsidized. Dozens of baianas spinning around always bring down the house. Porta-Bandeira and Mestre-Sala are the most
important couple in the school. Porta-bandeira is the lady that
carries the school flag with pride. Crowds stand and cheer as she
passes by. Her partner, the mestre-sala, has the job of drawing
everybody's attention to his queen. And they do that by performing
the most elaborate samba steps ever - seeing to believing. Samba
Schools also have a children-only sector. They have their own
version of the porta-bandeira and mestre-sala, and their dexterity
often equals or surpasses their adult counterparts. The bateria (percussion band) sets the beat. They are preceded by a queen ( or rainha da bateria), that can be either a beauty from the community or some TV star or VIP (girls fight fiercely for the position). The vocalist is know as puxador, and goes on a sound truck right behind the bateria. Atravessar is a term used when the bateria and puxador
go out of synch, and when it happens the school inevitably loses
points. School members must also sing along the whole time, or
they will lose points in harmony. Evolution and Group
are two other aspects judged, the school must flow smoothly and
without any blank spaces. |
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