The air in the throat will flow freely through the streets and avenues of Rio de Janeiro without fear of encountering contaminated droplets or needing to be consumed with political campaigns. That’s what those who live off Carnival await, not only in the four days of February.
“This year will really be the cry of freedom”, says Clayton Fraga, 31, who buys and adorns the costumes for the Beija-Flor samba school in Nilópolis.
Less than a month away from the revelry, the city that breathes samba and street culture is already full of drumming, with hundreds of rehearsals of blocks and schools spread out preparing to receive 5 million people,
larger audience than in 2020.
As in other carnival destinations in the country, that was the last year that the street party officially took place, with authorization for processions, public safety teams, chemical toilets and medical stations.
In 2022, only the Sapucaí show was allowed, but out of season, in April, under the threat of the omicron variant. Even so, the city experienced two small, somewhat clandestine carnivals, with musicians and revelers who roamed the downtown asphalt.
“There was a repressed demand and a lot of people ended up going to the streets”, says researcher Victor Belart, author of the book “Cidade Pirata” (ed. Letramento). “Now, however, in addition to Carnival reaffirming its size, it will be the return of some of the traditional blocks.”
The main ones, the megablocks, will have their own place to happen, with a police search. More than 100,000 people are expected to pass each day along Avenida Presidente Antônio Carlos, in the central region, following the electric trios of Preta Gil, Anitta, Ludmilla, Monobloco and Cordão da Bola Preta.
The municipality promises the largest structure in its history. “Everything is practically ready. It will be the biggest staff of all the organs of all the carnivals”, says Ronnie Costa, president of Riotur.
Logistics include, for example, ensuring that more than 450 registered parades do not cross. To make life easier for revelers, the city launches an application in Portuguese, English and Spanish with georeferencing and filters to search by neighborhood, date and time.
It will also be the first time that more parades will pass through the commercial center than through the southern tourist area, in order to democratize and not disturb the urban dynamics. The two regions concentrate the main blocs, but the northern zone is the winner in terms of numbers.
This is where the “People’s Carnival” takes place, on Avenida Intendente Magalhães, which this year will be transformed into a small Sapucaí to receive the third division of samba schools
—preserving the gratuity and place for the barbecue.
The Sapucaí Sambódromo itself will also be modernized. The colored lights that give effect to the parades, tested last year, will now be fixed, and there will be greater rigor to prevent the sound from the boxes from leaking and a lot of people crowding the track, polemics of the last show.
In hotels, reservations are already almost full, and the expectation is to reach 100% occupancy, contributing to a movement of around R$ 5 billion in the city. But the eagerness for this year’s party includes another factor — the political one.
For four years, revelers and the community engaged in the Carioca Carnival asked “Bolsonaro out” between one march and another. Now they see the revelry as a celebration.
Pablo Beato, 34, lets out a scream when he hears the former president’s name. “Carnival for us started after the elections. Everything improved, the climate became lighter. We, cultural agents, were marginalized”, says the director of the Me Enterra na Quarta block.
“It’s the Carnival of the return to our freedom”, says the veterinarian Juliana Rosseto, 40, who will leave for the first time in the procession.
Researcher Victor Belart analyzes that, no matter what the context, the party will always be, in essence, political: “Carnival is much bigger than the pandemic and Bolsonaro. “.
Watch a video that shows the preparations for the Carioca Carnival youtube.com/folha
Main Highlights
megablocks (Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos)
Sat. (11/2): Cry Call Me
Sun. (2/12): Black’s Block
Sat. (2/18): Cordão do Bola Preta
To have. (2/21): Fervo da Lud
Sat. (2/25): Anitta’s Bloc
Sun. (26/2): Monoblock
Samba school parades (at the Sapucaí Sambadrome)
Sun. (2/19):
10 pm: Serrano Empire
11 p.m.: Big River
24h: Independent Youth
1am: Unidos da Tijuca
2am: Willow
3am: Hose
Mon. (20/2):
10 pm: Paradise of Tuiuti
11 pm: Portela
24h: Vila Isabel
1am: Imperatriz Leopoldinense
2 am: Beija-Flor
3am: Viradouro
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