| First
of all it`s helpful to know that parade in Portuguese
is Desfile. Now, this is a contest and it`s
for bragging rights for the whole year as judges
rate the performances of Samba schools which
spend up to 8 months in REHEARSALS
preparing for the big parade. There is a special
group of Samba schools composed of 14 schools.
Then
there`s an A group, a B group, and also Mirins,
groups composed of younger samba school members.
Each year the winners from group A and group
B are promoted to the special group and the
two schools receiving the worst scores in the
special group are demoted.
The parades in the Sambadromo begin on Friday
with the Mirins parade and the B group, followed
by the A group on Saturday, and 7 schools of
the special group on Sunday followed by the
last 7 schools of the special group on Monday.
There are more Mirins parades on Tuesday and
then the judging of the parades is on Wednesday
afternoon to determine the winners who will
parade again on Saturday in the champions parade.
The gates of the Sambodromo open at 6 in the
evening. The parades begin around 7 and last
through the night past dawn till about 7 in
the morning. The members of the schools
meet on Avenida Presidente Vargas before entering
the parade route and that`s the best place and
time for you to take pictures since people are
usually already trashed, besides, during the
parade and soon after the parade there is so
much chaos and such big crowds that it`ll be
more difficult.
Each school, composed of up to 6000 costumed
people, has between 65 and 80 minutes to get
the whole school through the 700-meter long
parade route, which has a capacity for 60,000
onlookers. The school includes 5 to 9 allegorical
floats which tell the story of that year`s theme,
ranging from political or historical themes
to light hearted ones. A school's drum section
can have as many as 400 percussionists. You'll
know which school it is by paying attention
to the first float, abre alas, with the their
theme and the school's name on it.
The school is judged on energy, enthusiasm,
and organization such as, not having any gaps
between the floats throughout the parade route.
The quality of the floats and costumes, the
theme, the samba song, and how it all comes
together is also judged. Various details involving
the performances of special groups of the school
are very important too, such as the Front Commission,
right after the first float, responsible for
presenting the school usually with a clever
choreographed routine. Bahianas are twirling
older ladies in the school wearing large African
style dresses. The Flag Bearer and Mestre Sala,
the two principle representatives of the school,
and the Old Guard, the oldest members of the
school are also main attractions to pay attention
to.
Be
prepared for a lot of eye candy! It`ll probably
be the most colorful experience you`ve ever
had and I`m quite sure you`ve never seen so
many feathers before. The most beautiful and
famous women in Rio are big attractions at the
parade, each one trying to out do the others,
as well as up and coming stars of the future
trying to appear on TV and get noticed. There
are also professional Sambistas, called Passistas,
that really put on a show dancing their way
through the parade. Be there to cheer them on
or buy a costume and PARTICIPATE!
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| Sambadrome
Items |
Per
Person |
Carnival Like a Native Value Package
Includes: Transfers in/out, Carnival “Fantasia” (Costume), Grandstands Ticket for Monday, February 23rd and Assistance |
ON REQUEST |
Grandstands Ticket
Sunday, February 22nd OR Monday, February 23rd, in Sector 9 |
ON REQUEST |
Frisas (Numbered Chairs) Ticket
Sunday, February 22nd OR Monday, February 23rd, in Sector 9 |
ON REQUEST |
Carnival “Fantasia” (Costume)
Monday February 23rd |
ON REQUEST |
Grandstands Ticket
Saturday, February 28th, in Sector 9 |
ON REQUEST |
Frisas (Numbered Chairs) Ticket
Saturday, February 28th, in Sector 9 |
ON REQUEST |
Transfer in/out to Sambadrome |
ON REQUEST |
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