Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
in Copacabana; and the Carmelitas de Santa Teresa, which
gathers in the
bairro
of the same name. There are dozens of
others, including several in each
bairro
of the Zona Sul,
each providing a mix of music, movement and none-too-
serious cross-dressing - a tradition during Carnaval in
which even the most macho men indulge.
At most of the balls,
fantasia
(fancy dress) is the order of the
day, with elaborate costumes brightening the already hectic
proceedings; don't worry if you haven't got one, though - just
dress reasonably smartly. You'll often have to pay an awful lot
to get into these affairs, as some of the more fashionable ones
attract the rich and famous. There are a number of gay balls,
too, which attract an international audience. The Grande Gala
G is an institution, usually held in the
Help
disco on
Copacabana's Avenida Atlântica. Another is the Baile dos
Enxutos, hosted by the
Hotel Itália
on Praça Tiradentes, Centro.
Copacabana Palace Hotel
T
21 2545 8790.
There's
none grander than the Baile Mágico held at the
Copacabana
Palace Hotel
(see p.95), drawing the elite from across the
world. For the privilege of joining in, expect to pay over
CARNAVAL BALLS
It's the Carnaval balls
(
bailes
) that really signal the start of the
celebrations - warm-up sessions in clubs and hotels for rusty
revellers, which are quite likely to get out of hand as
inhibitions give way to a rampant eroticism. The balls start
late, normally after 10pm, and the continual samba beat
supplied by live bands drives the festivities into the new day.
THE SAMBA SCHOOLS
The
samba schools
, each representing a different neighbourhood or social club, are divided
into three leagues that vie for top ranking following the annual Carnaval parades. Division 1
(the top league) schools play in the Sambódromo, Division 2 on Avenida Rio Branco and
Division 3 on Avenida 28 de Setembro, near the Maracanã.
Preparations start in the year preceding Carnaval, as each school mobilizes thousands of
supporters to create the various parts of their display. A theme is chosen, music written and
costumes created, while the dances are choreographed by the
carnavelesco
, the school's
director. By December, rehearsals have begun and, in time for Christmas, the sambas are
recorded and released to record stores.
The main procession of Division 1 schools - the
desfile
- takes place on the Sunday and
Monday nights of Carnaval week in the purpose-built
Sambódromo
, further along the
avenue beyond the train station; the concrete structure is 1.7km long and can accommodate
90,000 spectators. The various samba schools - involving some 50,000 people - take part
in a spectacular piece of theatre: no simple parade, but a competition between schools
attempting to gain points from their presentation, which is a mix of song, story, dress, dance
and rhythm. The schools pass through the Passarela da Samba, the Sambódromo's parade
ground, and the judges allocate points according to a number of criteria. Each school must
parade for between 85 and 95 minutes, no more and no less.
Regardless of the theme adopted by an individual samba school, all include certain basic
elements within their performances. The
bateria
, the percussion section, has to sustain the
cadence that drives the school's song and dance; the
samba enredo
is the music, the
enredo
the accompanying story or lyric. The
harmonia
refers to the degree of synchronicity between
the
bateria
and the dance by the thousands of
passistas
(samba dancers); the dancers are
conducted by the
pastoras
, who lead by example. The
evolução
refers to the quality of the
dance, and the choreography is marked on its spontaneity, the skill of the
pastoras
and the
excitement that the display generates. The costumes, too, are judged on their originality; their
colours are always the traditional ones adopted by each school. The
carros alegóricos
(no more
than 10m high and 8m wide) are the gigantic, richly decorated floats, which carry some of the
Figuras de Destaque
(“prominent figures”), among them the
Porta-Bandeira
(“flag bearer”)
- a woman who carries the school's symbol, a potentially big point-scorer. The
Mestre-Sala
is
the dance master, also an important symbolic figure, whose ability to sustain the rhythm of his
dancers is of paramount importance. The
Comissão da Frente
, traditionally a school's “board of
directors”, marches at the head of the procession, a role often filled these days by invited TV stars
or sports teams. The bulk of the procession behind is formed by the
alas
, the wings or blocks
consisting of hundreds of costumed individuals each linked to a part of the school's theme.
In addition to a parade, every school has an
Ala das Baianas
- a procession of hundreds
of women dressed in the flowing white costumes and African-style headdresses typical of
Salvador - in remembrance of the debt owed to the Bahian emigrants, who introduced many
of the traditions of the Rio Carnaval procession.
