Birthday boy, Copacabana Palace is the scene of the best parties in Rio in the last 25 years

Iconic. Historic. Glamorous. There are several adjectives used to describe the Copacabana Palace, which turns 100 this Sunday. He’s all of those things, yes, but one or two less frequently used terms might fit him perfectly: Animated. Party boy. The Copa (for those who are intimate) has always had a natural predisposition for chic chic, and in the last 25 years, this hotel’s vocation has been raised to its maximum power.

In addition to hosting private celebrations and all sorts of awards and cultural launches, the Copa seems to be always looking for reasons to make a splash in its domains, going far beyond the very traditional Gala Ball, during Carnival, and New Year’s Eve parties.

In 2017, for example, what would have been an uncomfortable renovation on the edge of the pool was the pretext for a wild party — one of the best in recent years, by the way. The scheme was as follows: those who wanted to dance would go to the dance floor, set up inside (exactly, in the pool, huge and without water, remember). Guests, a mix that brought together actors, actresses, the Rio fashion crowd, plastic artists, musicians and socialites, were served by handsome waiters, some in swim trunks; sexy without being vulgar.

Those who preferred to talk and have a snack stayed around, where there were still some lounges scattered around, decorated in blue and white stripes, something a bit navy, you know? In one of them was Fernanda Montenegro, having a glass of sparkling wine and talking about astrology with Mônica Martelli.

Fernandona said that she is a Libra with a Capricorn ascendant. “Libras like harmony, and Capricorns are said to have their way anywhere,” she explained. Then, the personalities of Aryans (“they know what they want”, and Virgos, “make a point of having everything in place”) were put up for debate.

Flag bearer of the Beija-Flor samba school and Rio Carnival icon, Selminha Sorriso approached and asked to take a picture kissing the actress’s hand. And she: “Only if I kiss yours too”. Fernanda kissed, the two hugged, and Selminha left even a little emotional. “She’s a myth, right, man?”

The parties during the day, on the veranda or by the pool, provided memorable encounters, such as that of Danuza Leão and Zeca Pagodinho. She adored him, and made it clear as soon as she saw him. “When are you going to call me to go to Xerém?”, the journalist wanted to know, in that hoarse voice, hugging Zeca. He was drinking red wine (“Thin Thing”) and the two engaged in a long conversation, which ended after the musician gave her a quick massage on her shoulder.

Daytime parties, some starting just before sunset, were one of the hallmarks of the management of Andrea Natal, general manager of the hotel between 2012 and 2020, and aimed to attract a younger audience to the Cup, remove the certain stigma of “grimace” that he still carried. It worked and helped to rejuvenate until the Gala Ball at Carnival, an event with marchinhas, passistas and gringos finding everything incredible. The event has tickets for around BRL 5 thousand (2023 price) and rigid dress code: “luxury costume”, long dress or black tie.

The Carnival party is really cringe, and has no intention of becoming modern. The buffet boasts true status symbols of gastronomy (caviar and a cascade of huge shrimp), there is a lot to drink and everything, and at least until this year, it had the faithful coverage of Amaury Junior. The presenter, an old monkey at the function, sometimes got irritated with the indomitable guests at the ball. “Ah, man! Look at the camera and drop it, it’s ugly,” he said, taking the glass from the hands of a lady, already drunk, who was giving him an interview dressed as Carmen Miranda.

That was in 2016. It was the year of the Olympics in Rio, and the dance had Greece as its theme. The chosen queen was Mari Paraíba. Never heard of it? Nor the public that traditionally fills the door of the Cup waiting for the parade of guests on the red carpet. Mari made a cinematographic appearance, surrounded by strong men dressed as warriors, with spears in their hands — and no one made a fuss over the then-pointer of Minas Tênis. The volleyball player passed by the people, in a scene that got moving.

Sabrina Sato appeared half an hour later, and then it was cowardice. As if charisma wasn’t enough, she’s from samba. Drum queen of two schools, she plays the tambourine, rolls around, takes pictures cuddling up with the Mentos seller, smiles, says she’s “dry”, and that at that carnival she wants to get “a hookup”.

Sabrina was the queen that Copa wanted, so much so that the following year, 2017, she was officially crowned. Then came, in order, Ísis Valverde, Deborah Secco (dressed as Sofia Loren, felt the heat under the wig and had a drop in blood pressure in the middle of the Golden Room) and Camila Queiroz.

In terms of international celebrities, perhaps a momentous year was 2013, when Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci considerably increased the hotel’s beauty GDP. People nudged each other as the two passed, and fans waited their turn to take pictures alongside them — her, mostly.

They even overshadowed Prince Albert of Monaco, who also didn’t make the slightest point of being nice. Tense and always surrounded by security guards, those who put their hand in front of the camera to avoid taking pictures, Albert didn’t want to talk to the press and made a face like someone who ate and didn’t like it when someone, Brazilian, put a hand on his right shoulder.

Cassel and Bellucci were friendly, until the moment he was barred from the main box in the Golden Room, which is on the right side of the stage. “You can’t come in, sir,” a security guard told him close to his ear. Cassel argued, argued… And nothing. He came down the stairs of the stage, huffing, took Monica by the hand and left, determined, towards the same security guard.

“We’re going in,” he announced through clenched teeth. Warned by the radio, this time the boy let them both in. At this time, the band was playing “Este cara sou eu”, by Roberto Carlos, in marchinha rhythm, the great musical novelty at that year’s carnival.