At Rio Carnival, not Even Downpour Dampens Show
Tens of thousands of people defied a thunderstorm Sunday to pack Rio's Sambadrome as elite dance schools paraded in dazzling costumes and revelers shed inhibitions at street parties.
An estimated crowd of more than 72,000, from great-grandmothers to babes in arms, swayed and cheered on their favorite samba school in hours-long parades in Rio's annual party to end all parties.
Thousands of people, many wearing disposable rain ponchos, watched from viewing stands open to lightning and driving rain, although by the early hours the downpour had virtually stopped.
"The rain doesn't bother me. In fact, it gets us going and we crank it up a notch. It was too hot anyway," Cleberson Santos, 43, told Agence France Presse just ahead of the Viradouro parade.
Ciro Melo, a 34-year-old dancer from the northern city of Natal said despite the parlous state of Brazil's economy and rampant political disaffection, carnival was a glue holding the people together.
"Carnival brings all Brazilians together because we are a country of deep social division," the dancer said.
Spectators marveled at the pageantry, including Vila Isabel school's 15-meter-long (50-foot) "octopus" whose tentacles twirled dancers through the air.
Jefferson Kim of the Salgueiro samba school wore only shorts and gold-painted chains around his hands and neck in a nod to Brazil's history of slavery, the origin of samba.
"The chains are just a bit of fun -- but with a touch of historic conscience," Kim, 30, told AFP.
His school's parade was led by a giant moth operated by a dancer, trailed by a huge dinner setting replete with 10-meter candlesticks, an enormous teapot and what appeared to be a faux roasted pig big enough to feed hundreds, in a tribute to Minas Gerais regional cuisine.
Sunday and Monday night 12 elite samba schools each comprising some 5,000 participants are sashaying well into morning at the Sambadrome, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.
- Violence casts its shadow -
As locals and tourists alike danced their hearts out, violence cast a tragic shadow on proceedings in three other cities holding their traditional pre-Lenten festivities.
So far, at least two people have been killed and several injured across Brazil amid the festivities, authorities said.
One person was killed in the resort town of Paraty, and a man was stabbed to death in Sao Paulo, local media said.
Another shooting saw one person hurt in the northern city of Salvador, which hosts one of Brazil's most spectacular carnivals.
In Rio, the urban violence that so often scars the life of the city of more than six million has faded into the distance, at least for five days of festivities that began Friday and drew more than a million people Saturday to "blocos" street parties.
Huge crowds descended on Ipanema Beach to watch some of the most popular groups, including Simpatia e Quase Amor (Friendship is Almost Love).
Although the atmosphere has been joyful, Rio authorities have deployed 15,000 police just in case emotions boil over amid the heat mixed with alcohol.
- 'Carnival has grown so much' -
Cordao da Bola Preta, Rio's oldest street group, had hoped to attract as many as two million people Saturday.
But Globo newspaper reported that only about a million attended, with the venue shifted slightly owing to pre-Olympic roadwork.
"I'm not sure the figures are right -- but in recent years, carnival has grown so much maybe there's nowhere else for it to go," said Luiz Benevides, a 39-year-old drummer with a top bloco who will Monday play Beatles songs with a samba flavor.
After Sunday and Monday night's elite parades, the jurors will elect the winners ahead of next Saturday's Parade of Champions. Unidos da Tijuca are current title-holders.
The rain brought relief from the sweltering heat which marked Friday's opening day and Saturday.
The first record of carnival celebrations dates back to 1723 -- but the first samba school was not formed until 1928.
Source: Agence France Presse
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