In the year in which Marquês de Sapucaí celebrated its 40th anniversary, Viradouro Samba School had the best performance among the 12 Rio de Janeiro samba schools in the Special Group. It was the school’s third title. The last one was in 2020.
Viradouro’s winning samba paid homage to the serpent vodun cult, originating from the west coast of Africa. The school made its parade entry on Monday (Feb. 12), the second day of the parades. Following Viradouro in the top five were Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Grande Rio, Salgueiro, Portela, and Vila Isabel. These schools will join Viradouro for the Parade of Champions, scheduled for Saturday (17) at Marquês de Sapucaí.
In São Paulo, Mocidade Alegre samba school is the winner of the 2024 carnival, repeating last year’s feat. In second and third place were Dragões da Real and Acadêmicos do Tatuapé.
The theme conceived by the school for this year was written by carnival artist Jorge Silveira and Leonardo Antan and suggests a review of the concept of Brazilian identity.
“The year 2024 marks the centenary of the beginning of the historic journey that the poet Mario de Andrade took through deep Brazil, in search of composing the patchwork that forms our national cultural identity. Our parade aims to open the travel diary of the ‘Turista Aprendiz’ and follow the steps of his expedition with him. Together with Mário, we discover the richness of our art, our territory and our people”, explained Silveira.
Mocidade Alegre returns to São Paulo’s sambódromo, Anhembi, this Saturday (17) for the Champions Parade.
Source: Agência Brasil