Added: 11/09/2005 |
Unforgettable event: Samba carnival 2005The Samba Parade began in the 30's - first timidly at Praga XI and later on Av. Presidente Vargas. It found a permanent home in 1984 at the Sambodrome, a structure in the downtown area. Today, the Samba Parade is broadcasted to dozens of countries and all Brazilian states. Many people think of it as the greatest show on the earth.
The Samba carnival 2005 happened from February 5 - 8. Beija-Flor, one of the famous carnival 2005 samba dancers, was the champion of the Samba Parade for the third year in a row!
The Samba carnival 2005 was at the Sambodrome. This two-day extravaganza is considered by many the greatest show on the earth. Lasting a total of twenty hours, with about seventy thousand participants, twice as many people in the audience, plus millions of spectators, glued to their TV sets in Brazil and around the world, it may well be. Watching it on TV is pleasant, however, not half as much fun as being there. You have to mingle with the crowd, sweat and even march with a samba school.
Unlike the Street Carnival, the Samba carnival 2005 is not free. Tickets are actually quite expensive, though more than worth of investing. Fourteen special group schools march on Carnival Sunday and Monday, seven each night. The parade starts at 9 p.m. and goes on until the sunlight the next day, around six or seven a.m. This samba marathon is also a fierce competition. Each year a school is downgraded from special to access a group and vice-versa.
A Samba School is an association of people from the same neighborhood, usually a working class community in a suburban area. They get together on a regular basis for rehearsals and samba nights. Samba schools provide valuable jobs to the community, which is employed a year-round in the production of costumes and floats.
Each year schools choose a different theme. In the year 2000, for instance, schools highlighted different periods of Brazilian history, celebrating the country's 500th anniversary. During the Samba carnival 2005, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sambodrome, samba schools were allowed to re-edit their favorite Carnival themes from the past.
Samba Schools may take to the Parade anything, from three thousand to five thousand members, and from six to eight floats, all of them try to illustrate the chosen theme. All the costumes and floats are original, made from the scratch each year. You may think of it as a tropical opera, or rather several operas, happening at one night.
A Samba School has a period, ranging from sixty to seventy minutes to make it through the runway. It means that each member will actually spend only about twenty five to thirty minutes in the Sambodrome. The experience is so intense that the memories last a lifetime.
Several aspects are judged by a jury of experts, chosen by LIESA, the league of Samba Schools. Judges are strategically stationed in odd and even sectors, to make sure the schools do their best all the way through. The six schools that score best earn the coveted honor of marching again at the Winners Parade on following Saturday.
Certainly, all Cariocas considered themselves experts, when it came to judge a samba school at the Samba carnival 2005. Many kept a personal score to compare (and inevitably disagree) with the final result. Cariocas supported their favorite school like they supported their soccer team - with a lot of passion.
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