Carnival has had controversies, censorship and nudity; Remember the most iconic moments of Sapucaí

Inaugurated in March 1984, the Marquês de Sapucaí sambadrome collects historical moments that remain in the memory of the public. Over these 41 years, striking events, unforgettable characters and some controversies have been part of the famous show worldwide. Remember some of them below.

Iconic moments of eternal muses

They showed beyond beauty, a lot of samba in the foot, something endangered today. The list of beauties is long: Adele Fatima, Monique Evans, Luiza Brunet, Luma de Oliveira, Valeria Valensa, are some examples.

Evans’s debut at Carnival took place in 1984 and she soon became a symbol of the carioca event; But in 1991, she surprised samba on the pregnant avenue of her daughter, Barbara Evans, at the São Clemente parade. She was a drum queen for several years in four schools.

Former model Luma de Oliveira enchanted the public at the carnival of the 1998 tradition to sambar using a choker with the name “Eike”, in reference to her husband at the time. The spotlight all went to her. His last parade was in Portela in 2009, but the neck prop of 27 years has been remembered.

Luiza Brunet has stood out in the sambadrome since 1986. In 2023, in Portela, she left the feathers and sequins aside and boasted a more discreet costume for a noble cause: she displayed a red sign in hand, symbol of the campaign against domestic violence .

Remarkable and powerful honored meetings

In 1992, the hummingbird managed to gather in the same float the three most famous children’s presenters in the country: Xuxa, Mara Maravilha and Angelica. Sought by F5Mara recalled the unique moment.

“It was spectacular, the late Joãosinho Trinta [1933-2011] He was a dear, always very polite and talented, “he said. Asked about the memories of that occasion, the Bahian described:” People waving, cheering for school, I remember that day with joy and gratitude, but today I no longer enjoy Carnival. “

Known figures from television media not only paraded, but also inspired the sambas-plot. Unidos do Cabuçu paid a tribute in 1991 Adolfo Bloch (1908-1995), owner of the extinct TV Manchete (1983-1999) with the plot “happened, became headline”. However, Bloch was not the first option, Jô Soares (1938-2022) would be the honoree, but with his withdrawal in parading, the school decided to change the theme a few months earlier.

Another honoree of the communication was Silvio Santos (1930-2024), this time by tradition in 2001. The owner of SBT not only paraded, but also closely followed pre-production, visiting the school shed, often at dawn. Even Globo’s former programming director José Bonifácio de Oliveira Sobrinho, Boni, was also revered in 2014 by Beija-Flor, in the plot about the history of communication.

The unforgettable carnival of the artists

Among so many legendary carnivals, the F5 He asked some famous which parade had been the most striking for them. Presenter Nani Venâncio mentioned, “When Youth in 1989 paid tribute to Elis Regina. I was on the cake that represented her marriages.”

Passionate about Carnival, she has good memories: “I was going to all the balls, blocks, I was Queen of Gala Gay and even luxury fantasy ball. Between 1980 and mid-1990s, the “woman-on” of the opening of the first version of “Pantanal” was featured in several associations, as well as a drum queen of Unidos da Ponte. The beauty also stamped the cover of the LP “Samba, Sweat and Ouriço”, 1987.

For actress Isadora Ribeiro, an unforgettable parade was the Beija-Flor in 2018 (“Monster is the one who doesn’t know how to love the abandoned children of the homeland who gave birth”). “This one was marked for me for uniting art, protest and emotion, with great allegories, expressive fantasies and an exciting front commission,” he told the F5. As for the most beautiful, she highlighted the parade of Vila Isabel in 2013: “He enchanted me for the richness of detail, the contagious plot and impeccable aesthetics.”

Without hesitation, Monique Evans pointed to the Youth Parade in 1985, “Ziriguidum 2001 – Carnival in the Stars”. “It was in front of the drums, we won, I think it was the most important carnival of the school, it was wonderful” F5 by phone.

Constant presence on the avenue, former Topmodel and businesswoman Magda Cotrofe pointed two moments that impressed her: “Vila Isabel in 2009 was chilling, with Paulo Barros Inovando, and the other was Juliana Paes at Viradouro (2019), when the Battery opened for her to pass “.

The actor Marcelo Picchi, cited as his favorite the 2018 Parade of Unidos da Tijuca in honor of actor and author Miguel Falabella. “It was very exciting, I was doing ‘foot in the pit’ and there was the show’s car,” he said. Picchi talked about his long carnival experience: “I already paraded in almost every school, once I took four costumes, and went to parade on the same day in four,” he recalls.

Actress Vera Gimenez nominated her debut at Sapucaí at Beija-Flor in 1981, although most of her parades were in Greater Rio. “We were six other girls in the Open Late Car Suspended Gardens of Babylon, six Meters high, “he recalled.

All nudity will be punished (and remembered)

The NU was always part of the carioca carnival, the artist Enoli Lara was the precursor to parade in the float of Union of the Island using only one veil in 1989. Audacity reverberated and the Independent League of samba schools forbade the year following ” Genitalia naked “.

However, in 1990, actor Jorge Lafond (1952-2003) scandalized by parading by Beija-Flor using a subtle penis penis. With the new rule forbidding nudity, the school made a criticism in that year’s plot: “Everyone was born naked.”

The punishment only happened two years later, with the loss of two points after the actor Torez Bandeira parade using only glitter in the genital. After the event, he claimed that the sex slap had fallen on the avenue.

Viradouro samba-plot theme in 1991, actress and humorist Dercy Gonçalves (1907-2008) came in the float with her breasts to show 84 years, being cheered by the public.

International celebrities

The Queen of Pop Madonna came to check out Carnival in 2010 with the then boyfriend Jesus Luz. In the same cabin was the humorist Evandro Santo who remembered how the moment was. “I shouted three times ‘Madonna’ … Then I thought, ‘I’ve seen, let her enjoy,'” he said.

Long before the construction of the sambadrome, the Hollywood heartthrob Rock Hudson (1925-1985) fell into carioca samba twice. In 1958, the star was ciceded in the city by actress Ilka Soares (1932-2022) and, on an occasion, even used a track written “Princess of Carnival”. Although it was gay, he was not assumed. The actor returned in 1973 and enjoyed the revelry at the Copa Ball and rehearsals on the samba court.

In 1978, it was the turn of the then Prince Charles to land at Carnival here. He well tried to samba, but had no talent. But the most controversial appearance was by Jamaican singer and actress Grace Jones in 1996. Invited by a beer cabin, she was more interested in the younger boyfriend, regardless of the parade.

Controversy and censorship on the avenue

Censorship at Carnival was not solely with the nudity of revelers. Hummingbird with the plot “Rats and Vultures, dropping my fantasy,” was the target of a restriction in 1989 due to a sculpture of Christ the Redeemer wearing rags.

The request came from the Archdiocese of Rio on the grounds of use of religious symbols in “profane feasts”. In protest, the allegory was covered with black plastic and a track with the words: “Even forbidden, look at us!” The audience acclaimed the parade, but the jurors not so much, and the school did not take the title.

Luiza Brunet named this parade as one of the most memorable. “Joãosinho Trinta managed to bring a new look to Carnival, a place in a way also of demonstration. He remains a great figure of the Brazilian Carnival,” he told F5. Nani Venâncio shares the same opinion. “The parade was very striking, that protest, was in it as a passista,” he recalls.

The plot, designed by the late carnival, was a social criticism, in one of the wings had revelers like beggars, prostitutes, transsexuals and other representations. The restriction generated a positive repercussion for the association, which entered the history of Carnival.

The model Lilian Ramos was not a well-known carnival figure, but was raised to world fame in 1994, when enjoying the revelry without panties alongside the then president Itamar Franco (1930-2011). The photo was the controversy of the year, being the cover of the main newspapers and magazines. Ramos knew how to enjoy the popularity, closed several contracts in Europe and, since 1995, lives in Italy.

And the carnival of 2025?

Asked if they will fall in the carioca revelry this year, most people consulted for this text had not decided yet, while others will pass home. This is the case of Nani Venâncio, who is recovering from a foot surgery.

Isadora Ribeiro intends to watch the parades in the box with daughters Maria and Valentine; While Magda Cotrofe has been following more behind the scenes. “It’s been a long time since I have parade, I always ask me, I think I’m going to hang the sandals (laughs), but I always go to the balls and cabins,” he said.