Rio de Janeiro Activities: Carnival

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Samba School parade at the Sambodromo during Carnival

Still the greatest reason for visiting Rio seems to be the Carnaval. This highly-advertised party lasts for almost two weeks and it is well known for the escolas de samba (samba schools) that parade in Centro, on a gigantic structure called Sambódromo (Sambadrome). During Carnaval, Rio has much more to offer though, with the blocos de rua, that parade on the streets. There are now hundreds of these street "samba blocks", that parade almost in every neighborhood, especially in Centro and the South Zone, gathering thousands of people. Some are very famous, and there are few cariocas that have not heard of "Carmelitas", "Suvaco de Cristo", "Escravos da Mauá" or "Simpatia É Quase Amor".

Sambodrome at night. Here thousands spend the night dancing, singing and celebrating their favorite samba school (comparable to soccer teams) till dawn.

The rest of the year, samba shows are popular with tourists, and are held at several venues like Plataforma and Scala. These are expensive and not really representative of Brazilian culture, they present a lot of almost naked women and bad musicians, a tourist trap (much like the real thing.) Much more interesting and genuine, though, are the night practice sessions held by the various samba schools in the months leading up to Carnaval. You will find only a small number of tourists here, and you will be served the best caipirinhas of your trip! These go on into the wee hours of the morning, with the fun really only starting at 1-2 A.M. A good cab driver should be able to hook you up, and cabs will be available to take you back when you are samba-ed out. Salgueiro and Mangueira are good choices, as they are two of the larger samba schools, and are located relatively close to the tourist areas in a fairly safe area.

Note that a change is afoot that may make this genuine experience a thing of the past (or more convenient, depending on your viewpoint) for all but the most savvy tourists. The local government built a complex of buildings (Cidade do Samba) where many of the samba schools are moving their practice halls and float-construction facilities from the gritty warehouses typically located in or near their home favelas. One can expect many more tourists, and shows made-up for the tourists as the tourist bureau milks this facility for all it's worth year-round.

Here is a list of some of the samba schools:

• Mangueira, Rua Visconde de Niterói, 1072, Mangueira, ☎ +55(21) 3872-6786 (epm@mangueira.com.br, fax: +55(21) 2567-4637), www.mangueira.com.br. Rehearsals every Saturday, 10PM.
• Salgueiro, Rua Silva Teles, 104, Andaraí, ☎ +55(21) 2238-9258 (secretaria@salgueiro.com.br), www.salgueiro.com.br. Rehearsals every Wednesday, 8PM.
• Acadêmicos da Rocinha www.academicosdarocinha.com.br.
• Beija-Flor www.beija-flor.com.br.

The newest addition for tourists is the Samba City www.sambacity.info.

• www.mangueira.com.br
• www.salgueiro.com.br
• www.academicosdarocinha.com.br
• www.beija-flor.com.br
• www.sambacity.info