Brazil: the Rio carnival, a recovery in emotion and fervor
Audio 01:33
Dancers from a samba school parade during the 2022 Rio carnival. Kyodo via Reuters Connect
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
After two years of absence, the samba schools are making their comeback this weekend at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro.
All night long, the biggest schools follow one another, with their thousands of dancers, monumental floats, grandiose costumes.
A sound and light show that Brazilians and tourists alike had missed.
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With our correspondent in Rio de Janeiro
,
Sarah Cozzolino
Fans in pink and green are jubilant when Mangueira's first float enters the Sambadrome.
Anna and Nelson, in their sixties, met through their love school.
Whether to parade or attend, the couple never missed a carnival before the pandemic.
So these two years without carnival have been difficult.
"
It looked like we had had our wings clipped, that we had been taken away from our reason for living
," says Nelson.
All year long,
we look forward to this show
.
»
“
When Mangueira started to parade, I started crying,
adds Anna
.
Attending that, coming back here, it's wonderful!
For us, it's the most beautiful thing in the world.
»
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To read also:
Brazil: samba schools return to carnival after two years of forced break
The best carnival ever.
This is the theme of the school of Viradouro, which refers to the carnival of 1919, after the Spanish flu pandemic.
Even if she does not understand all the lyrics, Aurélie has goosebumps.
“
The costumes, the floats, it's phew!
Incredible.
And the enthusiasm!
That, that makes me vibrate, to feel the drums, the people who sing, we are integrated very easily.
»
The bleachers vibrate and schools follow one another until daybreak.
Everyone goes with their predictions to designate the best school.
Verdict, this Tuesday, April 26.
First Rio Carnival parades, #Mangueira pic.twitter.com/GFr07XfJqn
– Pascale Trouillaud (@PTrouillaud) April 23, 2022
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