Rio’s street Carnival kicks off on Ipanema beach

Sunday, January 31, 2010
RIO DE JANEIRO: Carnival in Brazil is still two weeks away, but Rio de Janeiro's revelers kicked off the party on Saturday as thousands paraded through the streets of Ipanema beach.

Thousands of revelers wearing all types of costumes flocked to the annual block party known as Banda de Ipanema, just one of the many street processions that take over the city's neighborhoods.

The band, which is a favorite of Rio's gay community, pounded out samba songs with irreverent lyrics while transvestites struggled to stay upright in stiletto heels.

A transvestite, known as Juju Maravilha, said Carnival is a democratic festivity.

"The rich (people) and the poor (people) party, the fat and the thin (party), the young and the elder (party), Carnival is a true democracy," said Maravilha, who as wearing a Carmen Miranda costume.

This year, Banda de Ipanema decided to pay tribute to the famous Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer and some transvestites used outfits inspired by his buildings.

Rio has some 600 neighbourhood groups known as "blocos", many of which have existed since the beginning of the 20th century.

To the beat of drums, revelers wearing masks and other garments chanted the group's song or "marchinha" as they danced freely with the large crowd.

Lawyer Ailton de Andrade said he and his family attend the parade every year dressed as clowns.

"I always come with my family. At the Carnival, we're the happy family of clowns, it's our theme. We come every year with a new costume, every year we make clown costumes, every year we are here representing ourselves," he said.

Some of the bigger blocos have become victims of their own success in recent years, attracting crowds so large that even the musicians have trouble breaking through the gridlock.

The main parades start on February 13, but the blocos begin to party in the streets of Rio long before the large samba schools go down the Sambadrome avenue.

The pre-Lenten festivities begin on February 12 when Rio officials give the key to the city to King Momo - the Lord of Misrule - and finish on the morning of Ash Wednesday.

Comments

Rio de janeiro carnival said…

Nice post. Everyone should experience the Carnival in Rio once in their lifetime to see the renowned parades at Sambodromo.In the North Zone you can find Maracana stadium and Rio zoo, which is most visited by tourist.

February 3, 2010 at 3:17 AM

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...

Snake bite deaths

Monday, July 06, 2009 COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government recorded some 33,000 snake bites in 2008, with most of the victims coming from remote villages.The Department of Government Information said in a statement that most of the snake bite cases could be fatal if neglected.The statement said snake bites are often neglected in Sri Lanka as victims do not seek treatment at hospitals where advanced medication is available. Instead, the victims rush to traditional type of treatment which could be a risk, reports Xinhua.Snake bites death at domestic level, outside hospitals, go unrecorded, said the statement.Most victims of snake bite are from the rural and remote villages where there is no electricity after dusk.Statistics show that Sri Lanka has over 90 species of snake with around 10 species possessing venom capable of killing a human being.In Sri Lanka the annual death rate due to snake bite envenoming is one of the highest in the world being 6 in 100,000 population.

Suicide bombings kill 18 in Iraq

Thursday, August 13, 2009 MOSUL: At least 18 people, most of them members of the ancient Yazidi religious sect, were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up on Thursday in a packed cafe in northern Iraq, a local government official said.At least 31 people were also wounded after the bombers detonated suicide belts packed with explosives in the cafe in Kalaa town, in the district of Sanjar, local district chief Dakheel Qassem Hasoon, told a foreign news agency."Two suicide bombers entered the Cafe Barbaroz at 4:30 pm (1330 GMT) and blew themselves up, killing 18 civilians and wounding 31. Most of the victims were Yazidis," Hasoon said.Kalaa, northwest of the insurgent stronghold of Mosul in northern Nineveh province is predominantly populated by the minority Yazidi religious sect, as well as Arabs and Kurds.The attack is the deadliest since Monday, when 51 people were killed across Iraq, including 28 members of the tiny Shabak sect cut down when two truck bombs det...

ONE NEWS

Search This Blog