Every year in Brazil a Carnival is held in the streets of every state in Brazil. The biggest celebrations of all are held in Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro. Most samba schools each make up their own routine and parade float and model down the streets that are blocked off for the special celebration. People from all over the word go to Brazil just to watch the Carnival. Bets are made on the school that people think are going to win. For the people who win the bets, they earn a lot of money.
Every year the Carnival starts four days before Ash Wednesday. “Carnival” literally means “to take away meat”. Its sometimes considered as the introduction to lent. King Momo, the King of Carnivals always has a part in to Carnival. He is the first person in the parade and he officially opens up the 4-day celebration. He is always hand-picked and it’s always a fat man.
The floats and the costumes are both handmade, one for each school. The costume and the float are tied together into one theme. Each school also writes their own song. All three are tied together into one theme and tells a story. It can be about the history of Brazil, or even modern technology. The outfits and floats are always very upbeat. They’re full of glitter, colors, and feathers. Beautiful colors surround the streets making it quite a sight. Some people say it’s the most beautiful, and exotic things they’ve ever seen. Body glitter, and body paint are both all over the place. Tons of people buy seats to view the Carnival live, up close and personal. On the other hand, its filmed so people all over the world can watch it as the magic happens.
The judging process is very strict and uptight. Every move they make, and every second counts. Everything has its precise timing. All the floats have their own cue. And lateness can hurt you score very badly. Every single person is looked at, and every mistake is caught. The main things to be judged on are: One, timing. Two, originality, its very important to have your own design and not something copied. Three, telling the story correctly, as I said before, the whole celebration is based on telling a story. If the story is told wrongly, or it doesn’t get its point across, there is no chance in winning. And, of course four, choreography, the dancing is also part of telling the story.
There are, in total, 12 schools model. For the first three nights, four schools model. And on the third day, the judges reveal the scores and the top three schools do their victory lap in order from first to third. Last year, (2010) a Samba School called Unidos da Tijuca won first place. For me, what I think really put it over-the-top was the way they changed outfits during the show. Some of the men dressed up as magicians and has their own portable dressing rooms and the women would step inside the cloth. The men would then raise the cloth until the women were completely covered. About 5 seconds later, the cloth would drop, revealing the women in a completely different outfit. This happened three times in a row. And then the partners started dancing. And what just completely made everyone’s jaw drop was the stunning trick they still had up their sleeves. Out came a huge piece of cloth and the couples stopped dancing to stand next to each other. Then a couple of people pulled the larger cloth over the couples. BAM. The women were instantly in another set of dresses. And if that wasn’t enough, for the last, mind blowing tick. The women stood in a line, side by side, when the men pick up a bag that looks to be full of confetti. The men then throw the confetti over the women. What happens next, I think you’ve already somehow managed to figure out. In the matter of what, I think, was 3 second the women are in their final, stunning dress.
To the residents of Brazil, the carnival isn’t just another holiday, it’s the most important one of the year. it’s the most extraordinary, mind blowing, fun holiday that was ever created. Its something that’s taken very dear to their hearts. It expresses all of the beauty Brazil has to offer and then some. If you ever see one, just like me, you would be mesmerized. I truly do believe that the carnival is a HUGE part of the Brazilian culture.