WOW!!!! What an explosion of activity we experienced tonight!!!! We had no idea what to expect when we boarded the bus to take us to the Sambadrome to attend the formal Carnival celebration. Although I had always heard of Carnival in Rio, I never understood exactly what it entailed. In case there's anyone else out there who doesn't quite know exactly what's involved I'll try to give a brief explanation. Once again, we aren't able to post Bob's pictures on this blog for some unknown reason so if you want to see his pictures, which are great, just send him a quick email request and he'll be MORE than happy to share them with you at drbobusc@gmail.com. Carnival is divided into two types, 1) informal street parties and 2) formal parade competition in the Sambadrome. The street parties are everywhere on the streets of Rio for three full days. They are simply neighborhoods or large groups of friends who gather on the street, share food, music, dance and sometimes floats. A parade might consist of an old decorated truck filled with musicians riding in the back and people following behind singing and dancing. Really a fun, fun time for everyone involved. Bob walked around town today while I was writing and found a great street party. They're everywhere!
The formal Carnival is held in the Sambadrome and is held over two nights, beginning at 9:00 p.m. each night and lasting until about 5:00 a.m. the next morning. There are 12 major samba schools who participate in this competition each year. A samba school is not an official "school." It doesn't take the place of academic school for young people. It evolved from individual neighborhoods which banded together and practiced samba, based on their particular culture and traditions. As the "school" gets larger and more proficient it may become more prestigious and have an opportunity to participate in more prominent celebrations. The schools have fundraisers throughout the year to raise the money they need to participate in the parades or competition. The twelve most accomplished schools have the opportunity to participate in the celebration at the Sambadrome during Carnival. Each school is given exactly 75 minutes to move along the stadium track which is about 2000 feet long. There are five judges who judge each school in a total of 20 categories on items such as costumes, music, floats, singers, etc. Each category has a maximum of 10 points. As in some Olympic sports, the highest and
lowest scores in each category are dropped and then the scores are totaled. The results are sealed and the winner is announced on Ash Wednesday.
Six schools perform on night one and the second six schools perform on night two. We were there for the first night. As each school entered the stadium, there was a sudden cacophony of sights and sounds. It started with an explosion of fireworks and a drum core of probably about 300 musicians which the crowd loved. Many people who were invited guests in the covered boxes reserved for large company sponsors became so excited they threw off their ponchos and started wildly dancing the samba, seemingly oblivious to the pouring rain. People in the stands were on their feet, dancing, singing and yelling their support for the people on the field. The dancers and floats which followed were an extraordinary spectacle. Every detail was perfect. The girls were gorgeous, the costumes were vibrant and textured with sequins, beads and other decorations which shimmered and shone under the lights. The samba music blared through the loud speakers and the crowd roared with delight. Each school had approximately 5,000 participants who were dancing, singing, playing drums and getting the crowd involved in the fun. It was an absolute sea of people on the field. It was a bit of a surreal experience to be there. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Unfortunately, last night it rained the entire time were were there, so we were worried that the costumes and floats might be severely affected. However, amazingly, they didn't seem to be at all bothered by the weather. I'm not sure how, but everything held up perfectly in spite of the weather. As we were leaving the stadium we were gathered in our group and many of the dancers and participants passed directly between us, sometimes hitting us in the face with their feathers!! They were still fabulous, with no signs of wilting in the rain!
Our cruise ship personnel were great about making sure that none of us got lost in the crowd or left behind at the beginning and end of the evening, which was a Herculean task, considering the pandemonium entering and leaving the stadium. The traffic was horrendous and it took us well over an hour to go a few miles. However, once we arrived we were quite fortunate to have wonderful seats. We were sitting near the judges stand so the participants really tried to strut their stuff for them. Other than being completely soaked for a few hours we were quite comfortable. They gave us cushions on which to sit, since the seats were cement.
The parade started over an hour late so for the first hour we sat there in the downpour waiting for the show to start. It was impossible to leave the seat for any reason and return due to how tightly people were packed into the rows. Bob and I were at the very end of a row without an inside aisle so we we were really boxed in. However, once the competition started, we were able to somewhat ignore how physically uncomfortable we were sitting in the lightning, thunder and pounding rain and enjoy the magnificent myriad of sights and sounds.
We returned to the ship in the early hours of the morning. When we entered our suite our thoughtful butler had left us a lovely tray of cheese, crackers, fruit and a bit of chocolate. He is incredibly thoughtful. Sometimes it's fun to be so spoiled but I'm fully aware this is only pretend and not reality. In three weeks this amazing adventure will be over and it will be time to cook our own meals and clean up our messes. So, until then we'll just enjoy this extravagant lifestyle.
We had the following morning to sleep late and then spent most of the day relaxing. While I wrote the blog Bob went onshore and took a walk to shop for souvenirs we might add to our collection but unfortunately didn't find the one sculpture for which we have been searching. Maybe in our next port before we leave Brazil. We left Rio late this evening and are on our way to the small resort town of Buzios, which is nearby. No tours scheduled for tomorrow so we can spend the day on our own exploring the town.
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