The colors, the music, the dancing, raucous partying all day and all night; yes I'm of course talking about Carnival in Rio!! Considered the largest Carnival in the world, with upwards of 2 million party-goers packing the streets per day. This gigantic celebration kicked off on February 21st this year and finished up a couple of days ago on the 26th, and is meant to both signify the end of the harsh summer and precedes the Catholic season of Lent. If you're planning on going next year, the dates are February 12th through the 17th!
To celebrate in style, you can attend the street parties (blocos), the bailes or costume balls, the main event in the Sambodromo, or all three if your heart desires. All three of these are pretty affordable, even if you want to go to all three- the main event costs from $2-1200 USD, the balls costing $25-115 USD per party, and the over 300 blocos are free, you just have to buy booze and food. The blocos consist of a band (typically a drumming band and a brass one) who march along a predetermined route. They start in January and go until the last day of Carnival, so you have plenty of time to catch these while they're happening. Bailes, if you want a more exclusive, fancy feeling while you party, are the way to go. Often guests wear more intricate masks and can have a dress code. The Copacabana Palace Hotel's Magic Ball is a good example of this.
The main event is a two-day dancing extravaganza, with the top 12 samba schools (out of 70 in the nation) competing for national acclaim and prize money. The schools' performances are done with painstaking precision during a hypnotizing and impressive 90 minutes and judged on theme, song lyrics, drumming cadence and precision, and overall harmony of the costumes. The Sambodromo can hold 80,000 visitors who watch 5,000 participants cross the Marques de Sapucai Avenue and even holds a children's parade where kids and teens can showcase their samba skills.
The origins of carnival date back to the Ancient Romans and Greeks and their celebration of the rites of spring. People would gather at parties, hidden behind masks and dancing in the streets to give thanks. These traditions would help shape the world-renowned Carnival we have today.
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