From Friday, March 1st, to Tuesday, March 5th, Rio de Janeiro held the most famous and greatest carnival in the world.
Carnival in Rio is a time when the streets are filled with bright colors, dancing Brazilians, incendiary music and crowds of people.
The festivities encompass the parade of Samba Schools in the Sambódromo “Marques de Sapucaí” and the parade of street bands, such as “Cordão do Bola Preta”. Both attract millions of spectators.
To watch the samba school parade at Sambódromo, revelers must purchase tickets. The cost varies from 60 to 2700 reais
(about $16 to $725). All the outdoor activities are absolutely free.
A Tribute to Missing Heros
Estação Primeira de Mangueira Samba School paid tribute to the Brazilians heroes missing from history books. The result couldn’t be better: the school was crowned the winner of Rio de Janeiro’s 2019 carnival with the samba titled “A Bedtime Story for Grown-Ups”.
Find below some of the historical and contemporary figures referenced in Mangueira’s samba parade.
Leci Brandão
Singer, songwriter, and politician. Brandão was the first woman to join Mangueira’s group of composers and is one of the greatest advocates of samba to this day.
Jamelão
José Bispo Clementino dos Santos, a cobbler and newspaper vendor, became known as “Jamelão” after he began interpreting Mangueira’s sambas in 1949, becoming the school’s lead singer from 1952 to 2006. He passed away in 2008.
Aleijadinho
Antônio Francisco Lisboa, better known as Aleijadinho, was an important sculptor, carver, and architect in colonial Brazil.
Marielle Franco
Marielle Franco was born in Maré, a favela in Rio’s North Zone. She graduated and was elected as a city councilor for the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) in 2016. A fighter, Marielle defended the causes of women, black people, and favela residents. Marielle was assassinated on March 14, 2018.
Carolina Maria de Jesus
Carolina Maria de Jesus was a Brazilian writer known for her book Child of the Dark, originally published in 1960. She is considered one of the first and most important black female writers in Brazil.
Tourism Record
The 2019 carnival broke records in Rio de Janeiro, generating
R$ 3.78 billion in revenue, 26% more than last year. Samba school and street parades also attracted more tourists to Rio in 2019. According to data released by Riotur, the flow of visitors reached 1.62 million, an 8% increase compared to 2018 when Rio welcomed 1.5 million tourists.
And those who landed in Rio for the Carnival approved the organization, the security and the information available. This is the result of a survey commissioned by Riotur, which revealed a 98% satisfaction rate among tourists.
More to come
The 2020 Carnival festival is set to take place February 21st-29th, 2020. Although Rio’s Carnival is the most famous among tourists, São Paulo and many other Brazilian cities organize amazing carnivals as well. Plan ahead!!!