Carnival 2023: How was the Vogue Ball, at the Copacabana Palace

The rain that hit Rio de Janeiro earlier this Friday (10th) did not end the only form of interaction between people and celebrities who went to the Vogue Ball, at the Copacabana Palace. The theme this year was “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, and it led to very particular interpretations in the creation of the costumes.

The sereno gang, which year after year settles in front of the hotel just to see, applaud (and make fun of) the costumed celebrities at their Carnival parties, this time had to wait for the storm to give a break to stand on the edge of the red carpet (blue this year, because of one of the sponsors).

It seems that the wait was worth it, even due to the overproduction and the unusual costumes of some of the guests. I mean, more or less unusual. Valesca Popozuda, for example, arrived on the back of a motorcycle in a yellow jumpsuit with flowing sleeves, and spent a good deal of time posing for photos with a helmet of the same color in her hands.

The stylish entrance had nothing creative or spontaneous: it was part of a promotional action by the singer for an app, which -if Mayor Eduardo Paes authorizes it, and he doesn’t seem to be in the least bit willing to do that- will start offering the passenger transport on motorcycles. Valesca even plans to re-record the classic funk “Dança da Motinha”, the one from the chorus “Dança da motinha / the popozuda lose the line”.

In terms of costume, Deborah Secco and Sabrina Sato also stand out, two masters in the art of attracting all attention to their costumes, whether participating in the coverage of the World Cup or Carnival. This time Deborah came from Bruna Surfistinha. “That character has always been my midsummer night’s dream,” she explained, in a reference to the film in which she played the call girl. So they wanted to know if she would spend the night carrying that heavy board. “No, it’s just for the pictures anyway”. And the advisor next to her: “I bet it will be left over for me….”.

As is customary at these events, guests lined up in front of a backdrop with the sponsors’ brand to be interviewed by journalists’ cakes. In this wait, behold, the recent ex-couple José Loreto and Rafa Kalimann is separated by just a half dozen people. to avoid the eye contact, the former BBB pretended to look at the cell phone screen when the actor passed (who never?), and the two seem not to have spoken. Not there.

In the queue, Patricia Poeta and Sabrina Sato also met, who wore a costume covered in flowers, with a huge arrangement on her head. Huge indeed, so much so that she needed the help of two assistants to move around. “Don’t turn quickly” advised the helpers. In vain. When greeting someone, the flower garden of her head fell to the ground, and Sabrina, serious and a little irritated (which is rare), turned around to get ready again.

Time for Narcisa Tamborindeguy to stop by and repeat her catchphrases (“Oh, how crazy”, “Oh, what a dance”), in that permanent state of excitement, soon broken when asked what she thought of her ex-husband, Boninho’s statement, that having married the socialite would have been a mistake. “I don’t talk about it. What a pain.”

Inside, you could see former model Veluma, much celebrated in the 1970s and 1980s, parading around the hall in an all-white Maleficent costume that contrasted with her black skin. “I wore white to draw more attention,” she said, adding ingratiatingly that she was at the ball “to do mischief.” The garment had a long, thin tail at the back, which, in order not to drag it, she held with her right hand. Veluma liked it when she sat down to eat and a guy asked to touch him. “Yeah, get my ass, get it.” Oh, Carnival.

The halls were crowded and, according to the eye, at least 50% of the women wore dresses with a train, often long, so you had to walk slowly so as not to step on the clothes of whoever was in front of you, a recurring scene during the night.

It happened with Roberta Close, in a long gold gown with sequins. “Ouch!”, She was startled to have the tip of her dress under the sole of a man’s shoe, which made her stop abruptly in her walk across the hall. Revered by many people there, Roberta said she found it “wonderful” to see so many trans people at the ball. “Too bad I know so few,” she lamented, before sending a kiss in the air in the direction of carnival designer and commentator Milton Cunha, who was helping himself to a pistachio pie and shouting “Amada!” when seeing her.

The big attraction of the night was the singer Ludmilla, who started her show around 2:30 am. There was only one VIP playpen in the hall, to the left of the stage, where the governor of Rio, Claudio Castro, and his entourage were installed: his wife, publicist Analine Castro, and about ten other people.

Castro had the only (and much coveted) sofa in the room at his disposal, but he watched the show standing, impassive, with a glass of rosé sparkling wine in his hands. In front of her, Analine danced to one of the funkeira hits: “Here! Here! Sit down now! Take a seat!”, While the governor whispered something to a man in a suit.