After dreaming of Rio Carnaval for what seemed like an age, having Barry Manilow's Copacabana be the soundtrack to my travel planning and feeling bubbles of joy when I felt others jealousy of my adventure it was probably fair to say my expectations of Carnaval were pretty high.
Sambadromo (the main carnaval parade) was such a spectacular, each float gettin bigger and better as the hours ensued. The women glistened with jewels and the floats moved and shook as the beats pushed them down the parade route. The event itself however was not what I expected, with hot dogs and beer on sale and Brazilian families bringing picnics with them, the whole thing felt much more like a football game than a party. The programme provided lyrics to the songs which I tried and failed to follow and as each samba school passed, different sections of the crowd supported their favourites. I expected couples to be dancing together, however with so many people this was obviously impossible and so instead a lot of fist pumping anf flag waving was the way to go. With a break of about half an hour in between each samba school this killed the party mood somewhat, however did allow for much needed toilet and beer breaks. If anything just for the feeling of being sat in the sambadrome with what seemed to be the entire population of Brazil was quite an overwhelming feeling, and I was there until 6am, so I was obviously having a pretty good time... and apparently J-Lo and Fergie where there!! Gutted I didnt spot them! My favourite part of each march was by far the drumming section, intense!
The real spirit of Carnaval however is in the Bloca's, street parties that are programmed to occur all over the city, some parading and moving (similarly to Notting Hill) and some simple parties in squares with trumpets, drums or soundsystems. I think it helps if you know the band or soundsystem playing as to whether or not its worth going but the general atmosphere is certainly uplifting!
Link to Facebook Photos
Sambadromo (the main carnaval parade) was such a spectacular, each float gettin bigger and better as the hours ensued. The women glistened with jewels and the floats moved and shook as the beats pushed them down the parade route. The event itself however was not what I expected, with hot dogs and beer on sale and Brazilian families bringing picnics with them, the whole thing felt much more like a football game than a party. The programme provided lyrics to the songs which I tried and failed to follow and as each samba school passed, different sections of the crowd supported their favourites. I expected couples to be dancing together, however with so many people this was obviously impossible and so instead a lot of fist pumping anf flag waving was the way to go. With a break of about half an hour in between each samba school this killed the party mood somewhat, however did allow for much needed toilet and beer breaks. If anything just for the feeling of being sat in the sambadrome with what seemed to be the entire population of Brazil was quite an overwhelming feeling, and I was there until 6am, so I was obviously having a pretty good time... and apparently J-Lo and Fergie where there!! Gutted I didnt spot them! My favourite part of each march was by far the drumming section, intense!
The real spirit of Carnaval however is in the Bloca's, street parties that are programmed to occur all over the city, some parading and moving (similarly to Notting Hill) and some simple parties in squares with trumpets, drums or soundsystems. I think it helps if you know the band or soundsystem playing as to whether or not its worth going but the general atmosphere is certainly uplifting!
Link to Facebook Photos
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