Carnival
Brazil 2006
If the idea of Brazil Carnival has always
captured your imagination, then this site will
open up an exciting new world of Carnival to see
and feel.
Rio de Janeiro Samba School parade 2006:
Its no wonder that such a place gave birth
to carnaval. For the wealthy, carnaval is little
more than a show, experienced in the way that
people who seldom set foot in a church celebrate
Easter. For Brazils working poor, however,
carnaval is a celebration of the triumph of human
spirit over ones circumstances. It has been
called the greatest show on earth,
but its much more than that. Its
truly a transformation, where an entire country
is one vast celebration, and participants
commemorate however they choose.
The Carnival parades begin on Friday evening with
the lesser groups. These are usually groups that
have been formed in recent years that are working
their way up the hierarchy. Saturday night is for
Grupo A, the groups trying to get into the top
division, and the climax is reached on Sunday and
Monday nights when the 14 groups in the Special
Group parade, 7 each night, each for 80 minutes.
The groups are called escolas do samba (samba
schools.)
Beija Flor is one of the most venerable of all
the escolas, referred to as one of the quatro
grandes (big four) that have dominated carnival
for 50 years or more. Its percussion section has
won the placa (plaque) for best percussion
section more than any other school.
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