The Rio de Janeiro Carnival - Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
The Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro is a world famous festival held before
Lent every year and considered the biggest carnival in the world with 2
million people per day on the streets. The first festivals of Rio date back to
12!. The typical Rio carnival parade is filled with revelers" floats and
adornments from numerous samba schools which are located in Rio.
R#$ %& J'(&#R$" )R'*#L + Carnival and other ,re-Lenten
celebrations are observed throughout the world from (ew $rleans. /ardi
0ras to &cuador.s 1iesta de las 1lores y las 1rutas" but in )ra2il the four
days before 'sh 3ednesday" mark the country.s biggest holiday. &specially
in Rio" the birthplace of samba music" the Carnival celebrations have
become world renowned and are now a global icon of the city.
The history of Carnival is comple4 with dates and origin stories often
debated. 5owever" one thing is clear6 in Rio" the modern day samba school
competitions in the 7amb8dromo" the massive bloco celebrations that fill the
streets and the gala balls held in various locations all share a rich and
interwoven history.
The observance of Carnival began" according to many historians" in
#taly as a celebration held by Catholics" before 'sh 3ednesday" the first
dayof Lent" a si4-week period of fasting and abstinence that ends at &aster.
&ating meat was prohibited during Lent" and the origin of the word
9carnival: comes from that feature; either 9carne levare: meaning 9to
remove meat:6 or 9carne vale: or 9farewell to meat.:
Carnival is said to have then spread to 1rance and then throughout
&urope. Catholic ,ortuguese settlers of )ra2il are credited with bringing the
,re-Lenten celebrations to Rio de Janeiro with the first recorded Carnival
took place during either the 1<th or 1th century.
%uring the 1=th century" different groups began to add to the
celebrations in Rio. 7ome of there were 90randes 7ociedades: >0reat
7ocieties? which were lu4urious parades held by aristocrats" and 9Ranchos
Carnavalescos:" which were organi2ed working-class parades. There were
also 9Cord@es: which were less organi2ed groups of lower-class masked and
costumed parading revelers.
The birth of samba music in the city played a crucial role in the
formation of what are considered contemporary Carnival celebrations in Rio.
%uring this time" the groups known as Cord@es gradually became blocos.
The groups would parade in the streets with makeshift costumes while
playing improvised samba songs. The practice is still observed today and the
blocos make up the widely popular Carnival da Rua >street parade?.
$ver time" though" some of the blocos wanted to be become more
organi2ed. #t was then that the &scolas de 7amba >7amba 7chools? were
born. 'ccording to one versionof the story" %ei4a 1alar" the first group to
call themselves a 9samba school:" did so because they held their meetings
near an actual children.s school.
%uring the early 2Ath century the newly formed samba school.s
parade became a competition. 9# have fond memories of the neighborhoods
participating and celebrating. #t was whole families and generations there"
together": #panema resident %oralice 1erreira told the The Rio Times.
93e would take lawn chairs and sit on the sidewalks. 3e watched the
parades that wayB and sometimes Coined in. Dou can.t do that now because
it.s too crowded": she muses.
$ver the years" the numbers of the samba schools and spectators
increased significantly. They grew so much" that in 1=!" famous )ra2ilian
architect $scar (iemeyer was commissioned to build the 7amb8dromo as a
permanent site for the competitive parade.
The top twelve samba schools are known as the 7pecial 0roup and
they compete in the 7amb8dromo on the final two days of carnival for the
championship. The competition is broadcast live in )ra2il and is
increasingly televised internationally.
9#.m )ra2ilian and have lived outside of the country for yearsB when
Carnival time comes # always think about how people back home are going
to be having fun": 3ashington %.C. resident Roberta 'yala told The Rio
Times. 9# tune into 0lobo on cable. #t.s ama2ing how far it.s all come. That #
can see it hereB it.s great.:
