Carnaval in Brazil 2010 (VI) - Carnaval Wrap-Up

Carnaval has officially ended - the blocos on the streets have come to an end, the massive parades are over, and a winner has been announced. The samba school of Unidos da Tijuca, with their theme of "It's Secret!," ended up being this year's champion in Rio. Meanwhile, placing a 7-year-old as its Rainha may have cost Viradouro dearly. Julia Lira got stage fright, which is more than understandable given the pressure of being the head of a parade at 7 and having cameras shoved in your face, and ultimately, Viradouro fell out of the first division for their performance, and really, it wasn't even that close.

Carnaval had other interesting moments, as well. It was very well attended, including by the likes of the two leading candidates for the Brazilian presidency, as well as Madonna, who was in Rio alongside Rio de Janeiro Governor Sergio Cabral and PT candidate Dilma Rousseff for the event (and the accompanying video gives you a sense of the size and spectacle of Rio's Carnaval). And Geisy Arruda, who had been expelled from a school after her dress was declared "too short" and students brutally mocked her, was able to take part in the parades. (The second link is an interview in Portuguese, but again gives the sense of the sound and sights of Carnaval).

As I mentioned before, there were record-setting heats, making Carnaval particularly uncomfortable this year. Therefore, one of the regional expressions of Carnaval must have felt wonderful, as hundreds gathered in the colonial city of Paraty to partake in the annual mud-fest that marks Carnaval in that city.

Overall, this year's Carnaval looked as spectacular as it usually does, and made me wish to be back in Rio (though the heat reminded me why I was glad I wasn't). For those interested, here are some more semi-offensive, mostly-lascivious, and barely-SFW photos from the events this year.

Caranval in Brazil 2010 (V) - Photos from the Second Night in Rio

I should have my recap of Carnaval this year later this week, For now, here are photos from the schools that participated in the second night of parades in Rio (only made available online this afternoon). The schools that participated in the second day included some of the most famous and oldest samba schools, including Mangueira, Portela, Vila Isabel, Porto da Pedra, Mocidade, and Grande Rio. And once again, if you'd like to hear this year's samba songs from each school's second night, you can hear the songs from Mangueira, Portela, Vila Isabel, Porto da Pedra, Mocidade, and Grande Rio.

I'll have more tomorrow as Carnaval activities wind down and official winners are announced.

Carnaval in Brazil 2010 (IV) - Photos from Rio on the First Night

I may have more later today or tomorrow, but the first night of the official Carnaval parades in Rio occurred last night. Here are photos from the parades of the samba schools of Salgueiro, Beija-Flor, Viradouro, Imperatriz Leopoldense, União da Ilha, and Unidos da Tijuca. As you can see, the parades themselves are much more than scanitly clad women, with remarkably complex floats and impeccable choreography (though the pictures have a harder time conveying that).

And for those who are interested, each samba school has its own song each year. For the first time, you can hear those songs by clicking the "play" button near the top of each school's page (União da Ilha, Imperatriz, Unidos da Tijuca, Viradouro, Salgueiro, and Beija-Flor).