Getting Ready for Carnival Fever

There's a Bob the builder marathon going on in the living room on the account that my boy has been feverish on and off for the last few days which gives me some time to talk about another fever of sorts;  the carnival fever.

Carnival is big. BEE-EYE-GEE. In fact, Rio's is the biggest carnival celebration in the world. What comes to mind when most people think of carnival is the bejeweled, feathered samba dancers sporting their 12 inch heels and the monumental floats which slide along the street to the infamous samba beat. This world famous 2 night samba parade competition which takes place at the Sambodromo, the largest stage in the world flanked with permanent concrete grandstands is serious business. Each night, 90,000 people watch 6-7 samba schools made up of 3000-5000 people dancing to the beat of the bateria, a group of 200-300 musicians that lead the pace. Each school has 1 hour to pass in front of the judges.

A "Passista" (samba dancer)- photo taken from carnivalbookers.com

If watching from the grandstands is too laid back for you, you can take part of the parade simply by purchasing a costume from one of the samba school which can cost you between $300-800 US and attending practice sessions before the parade.

Let's say you are one of the 50,000 foreign tourists that floods the city during this week long holiday that didn't get a ticket to the Sambodromo, no worries, you can lose yourself in the crowds at the famous street parades, called Blocos, which take part in various neighbourhoods all over the city for FREE! Each bloco has it's own name and theme, some of which have been taking over the streets for over 100 years. The most famous of the 269 registered Blocos are the Polka Dot Bloco, and the Armpit of Christ Bloco. While The Polka Dot Bloco (Cordao da Bola Preta ) claims to be the largest with over 200,000 partiers, the oldest, Monobloco, hosted 400,000 thousand paraders last year with a street band of 200 performers and they are so popular that they perform all year round.

Bloco street party- photo taken from carnivalbookers.com

Question. Where are the porta-potties?

Today is Friday. It all starts on Sunday. There's is an eerie calmness in the neighborhood, and practically no traffic on the road. Definitely the calm before the storm.....