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Brazil Travel Guide: Rio Carnival 2010
After five days of non-stop, heart-pounding celebration, the streets have finally quieted down to a lull, the locals have slept off their exhaustion, and exciting tales are emerging from the aftermath of the 2010 Rio Carnival.
With Brazil’s soaring economy and selection as the host for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio was in good spirits for the preparation of this year’s Carnival, which for many visitors is the defining Brazil travel experience.
Flamboyant scenes from the streets of Rio during Carnival
Things kicked off on Saturday 13 February and despite the crippling heat making it the hottest Carnival in five decades, dancers and performers rocked the streets sporting colorful flamboyant costumes sprouting feathers from their backs and sometimes even reptiles from their heads.
During this wildly expressive event, everyone is encouraged to flaunt it, any way you want, the more color the better. There are no ridiculous costumes in Rio during carnival. No matter how outlandish someone is dressed, someone else has found a way to stretch the limit even further.
Amidst the unprecedented heat wave but refreshingly cool nights, the city estimates that a total of 2.5 million people took to the streets to let loose in typical Carnival fashion. The usual crowd of Hollywood and MTV stars made appearances, including Beyonce, Madonna, Hugh Jackman, Paris Hilton, and Alicia Keys.
The mayor took efforts to reduce the usual problems of disorder and sanitation by quadrupling the number of public toilets available and restricting certain activities on the two main Rio beaches, Ipanema and Copacabana. In general the attempts at a more safe and secure Carnival, especially with mounting pressure from Rio’s coming Olympic bid, were successful.
This year’s champion of the Rio Carnival parades competition was the Unidos da Tijuca samba group who took home the title for the first time in more than seven decades. The theme of their performance was “It’s a Secret,” and they made references to some of the great mysteries of the world including the Bermuda Triangle, ancient lost civilizations and Area 51.
Over 3,600 people played a part in the presentation which included a huge ski ramp that was climbed by a team of Spidermen and skied down by a team of Batmen. They even paid homage to Michael Jackson at one point. Groups spend millions of dollars putting together their extravagant shows and are judged in ten different categories before a winner is selected.
The streets may have quieted down for a while, but with Brazil’s continued growth as a popular South America travel destination, the quiet won’t last long. Soon Samba schools will begin pooling creative ideas for next year’s performances and people will begin checking their calendars to see if they can squeeze in some vacation time for February 2011.
Category: Brazil, Travel News
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