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Travel Story - Carnaval in Rio

A Samba beat sets the rhythm for the party people of Brazil

"Come on. Let’s go. Let’s go to Carnaval. It’s time to sing and dance…"

Nestled among the mountains of a rainforest and flanked by the palm-fringed beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, Rio de Janeiro is arguably the most beautiful city in the world. It also hosts one of the world’s biggest parties – the pre-Lent Carnaval. We were lucky enough to secure a hotel booking for the duration of the city’s festivities.

Our first order of business was to visit Rio’s famous Copacabana Beach. Throngs of thong-clad locals play futbol and paddleball, while bodysurfing tourists are slammed against the sand by the crashing waves. Vendors hawk everything from sunglasses to umbrellas, beach chairs, and cold drinks. This stretch of white sand is enormous, but even with its neighbour, Ipanema, makes up only a fraction of the city’s beaches.

The next day, Carnaval officially began, and it was instantly evident. Every shop was closed. But we didn’t have to go far to find a party. Every day, a different neighbourhood hosts a parade of music and revellers through its streets. Where we stayed, in Cinelandia, a large truck supported a multi-piece band, and was followed a few dozen metres back by another truck carrying a PA system. Attached together by a long cable suspended above the crowd, the two vehicles were engulfed by thousands of people that packed the streets and sidewalks. Young and old, everyone knew all the words to all the songs. It was apparent that this celebration transcended all generations and social classes.

After a few hours of being herded along by the procession, we hopped on the subway to Maracana Stadium where the state soccer final was to be played. Vasco de Gama was facing Flamengo. Long before the match even started, the fans had worked themselves into a good fervour. Massive banners covered large portions of the crowd. There was a lot of singing, chanting, and jumping up and down. The game finally got underway, and was entertaining and exciting. Towards the end, Flamengo was losing by a goal, but not for lack of trying. They hit two posts, and had two disallowed goals. Sitting in a pro-Flamengo section full of restless enthusiasts, we took our leave when various objects began hurtling through the air. Just as we left, the stadium erupted. Apparently, the game was now tied.

We returned to Cinelandia to find a stage set up in the main square. After a quick bite, we joined the audience and spent the next few hours dancing (or trying to dance) to all the Carnaval favourites performed by a variety of local celebrities. Those around us were greatly amused by our attempts at samba, and delighted in demonstrating it for us. We met many friends that night. Once we had met a new friend, we were also introduced to their friends, their mothers, and their mothers’ friends. Brazilian people are among the friendliest we have ever met. When we finally returned to our hotel room, we were exhausted.

Credit must be given to the Rio sanitation department, as the streets were virtually litter-free the next morning. After visiting the contemporary and conical metropolitan cathedral of Sao Sebastian, we took a trolley ride through the old colonial area of Santa Teresa, before making our way to the most famous of Rio’s attractions, Corcovado’s statue of Christ the Redeemer. As the place is jammed with tourists, one must wait to take the tram, but the views of such a magnificent city from the top are fantastic.

After a brief rest at the hotel, we hopped in a cab around midnight, and went to the Sambodromo. The Sambodromo is a city street six blocks long with huge grandstands on each side. During most of the year it is used for various shows such as rock concerts, but it was designed for the Carnaval festival. A few hours into the show and scalped tickets were below cost. Every night, about eight samba schools dance their way down the Sambodromo. Each school consists of thousands of dancers wearing vibrant costumes, hundreds of drummers, a band, and massive and lavishly designed and decorated floats. These floats depict all kinds of crazy scenes and creatures, and are adorned with sexy and scantily clad dancers. The samba schools are judged on costumes, floats, choreography, co-ordination, and other aspects. The winner of the preceding year’s Carnaval retains a spot in the final parade. It takes a school just over an hour to make their way through the Sambodromo and every samba school has its own song to dance to. I’m still humming one or two of them. After three schools, it was 3 a.m. and we were pretty sambaed out.

Before 6 a.m. we were awakened by some banging on the street outside our hotel. Upon inspection, it appeared that a couple of municipal workers were attending to a faulty power line. One thick cable was laying on the street, and one of the workers was trying to sever it – with an axe. Hence, the banging.

After applying earplugs and sleeping in, we walked along the waterfront to another of Rio’s landmarks, Pao de Acucar (Sugarloaf). A two-staged gondola takes visitors to the top of this monolithic hill overlooking the city’s beaches. A winding path leading partway down the backside offers great views and is home to curious monkeys. By 9:30 that night, the rain was coming down in buckets, rendering our return to the Sambodromo uncertain. By 11 p.m., the rain had stopped, and the moon and the stars started to shine. We took the subway back to the Sambodromo for another few hours, until we could stay awake no longer.

It is a testament to Cariocas (residents of Rio) that, considering the copious amounts of alcohol consumed and the large crowds gathered during Carnaval, we witnessed no violence or even marginal aggression. A similar scenario at home would undoubtedly produce far different results. Despite countless reports of crime in Rio (especially during Carnaval), at no time did we ever feel threatened.

Rio during Carnaval is a wonderful experience. I’m sure that the city is just as friendly, hospitable and charming throughout the entire year.