Gorillas, Clowns Among Coveted Rio Carnival Masks

With the official opening of the famed Rio carnival less than two weeks away, business is booming at Brazil's oldest mask factory, with designs of gorillas, clowns and witches the most coveted.

This year, politicians are out, said Olga Gibert, owner of the Condal plant, located in Sao Goncalo, on the other side of Rio de Janeiro bay.

"We made some (slain Libyan dictator Moamer) Kadhafi masks but there were not many takers. And it is not an election year here in Brazil," she told Agence Fresse Presse.

"So we are making (masks) of King Kong, witches and clowns, which are selling like hotcakes," she added.

Operating at full capacity, Condal has produced more than 150,000 masks in time for the Rio Carnival madness, billed as "The Greatest Show on Earth."

"Entire families or groups of friends want masks for the "blocos," the free neighborhood parties that precede the parades of sumptuous floats and scantily dressed women at the Sambadrome scheduled for February 19 and 20, Gibert said.

She reported "heavy demand for masks of clowns" like Pierrot, a traditional carnival disguise in Rio suburbs.

Founded in 1958 by artist Armando Valles, Condal used to sell up to 500,000 masks in past years.

When Valles died in 2007, Gibert took control of the small factory which churns out more than 2,000 different designs.