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a-mazur-in-rio · 10 years

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Day 12 and 13 were Carnaval at the Sambadrome

Carnaval in Rio is the largest celebration I've seen anywhere. Carnaval isn't really a precise event, but rather a series of street celebrations and parades that last for weeks. It's such a major event that we had three days of school off during the past week and very weak attendance during the two days that we did have school. I spent some time on the street celebrating in what are called blocos, or block parties. These are enormous outdoor gatherings that encompass entire blocks and pop up seemingly at random ranging from weeks before the parade of champions to days afterwards. People begin to gather and the movement grows and as it grows it attracts more and more happy people. We have nothing similar to these blocos in the United States, but the atmosphere reminds me of the 4th of July mixed with an immense neighborhood block party. Samba schools dedicate themselves, in some cases full time, to preparing for the Carnaval parades each year. In the weeks that encompass the Carnaval season in Brazil, these schools, each consisting of thousands of members, parade and are judged to determine the champions. These parades are more than a simple visual display. The floats are masterfully crafted and some schools have as many as 12 or 15 floats. Each float features samba dancers and performers who wow the crowd with their moves and costumes. In addition to floats, groups of dancers proceed on foot, usually with choreographed moves, but some choose to freestyle. I call these groups pelotons, as they resemble the group of riders who stick together in the Tour de France. Next, their are duos, as I call them, who are pairs of dancers who have their own set of moves. Finally we have shakers who, as you can imagine, are in the parade for one reason; to shake! The samba style of dance features extremely quick foot and leg movements resulting in a good deal of shaking. Most of these shakers are women in elaborate outfits (some being sacred I'm told) who wow the crowd with their samba moves. The top six schools are chosen to perform in the parade of champions, which is the ultimate reward. The parade of champions takes place in the Sambadrome, an avenue with large concrete stands that was built solely for the Carnaval celebration. The avenue is 750 meters, or nearly half a mile long. That means each of these schools parades nearly half a mile stopping to perform for each section of stands. I had the opportunity to attend the parade of champions thanks to Our Lady of Mercy where I teach. My roommates and I were accompanied by two incredible guides, one who works at OLM, who kept us safe and maximized the experience. I don't have words to describe the parade itself, so it's a good thing that I was able to bring my camera and take over 100 pictures. The atmosphere is unlike anything I've ever felt or will feel again. Everyone young and old dances virtually the whole time each school parades. Music booms from speakers strategically placed every few dozen yards creating an immersive samba filled atmosphere that can't be ignored. It's impossible to take your eyes off of the parade itself, but if you manage to do so, you'll see a throng of completely engaged and completely happy people smiling and dancing, waving to the dancers, dancing with one another, and just plain living life. The back drop to the Sambadrome features the lights of favelas up on the mountains that snake through the city's border and Christ the Redeemer who is perpetually watching over the city and its residents. If you didn't know what you were looking at you would swear you were looking at the stars in the sky as you looked out into the nighttime lights of the favelas. The parade of champions is a microcosm for the Cariocan way of life. Rio natives call themselves Cariocan, which is used to describe their culture. Rio natives are proud Cariocans and will share the fact with you immediately upon meeting them. This experience helped illuminate to me what it means to be a Cariocan.

#riodejaneiro #a-mazur-in-rio #riocarnaval2015

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