Parades of the Samba Schools in São Paulo – 03

The float which opened the parade of Dragões da Real, the first school to parade on Saturday (18) - photo: Flavio Morais/G1

A total of 14 samba schools paraded in the carnival festivities in Anhembi in São Paulo. The results of the first seven schools we have seen in my previous two articles. Today the first three samba schools, which paraded Saturday night and Sunday morning. In a following article the last four.

Dancer of Dragões da Real shows her beauty during the parade. In the background the float representing the mothers - photo: Raul Zito / G1

On the second day of the parades Dragões da Real makes its debut in the Special Group. Then next enter, in order, the samba runway Pérola Negra, Mocidade Alegre, Águia de Ouro, Unidos de Vila Maria, Gaviões da Fiel and Tom Maior. The last four, as said,

Parades of the Samba Schools in São Paulo – 02

Andreza Sobrinho, dancer of the samba school Rosas de Ouro. She was elected Queen of the Carnival of São Paulo - photo: Raul Zito/G1

During the first night in São Paulo seven samba schools paraded. In my previous post we read about and saw the pictures of the first four carnival groups.
In this post the other three.

Allegorical float of samba school Rosas de Ouro - photo: Flavio Moraes/G1

Samba school Rosas de Ouro was inspired by Hungary and highlighted that country on the avenue in a fictional story full of knights, kings, princesses and castles.

Parades of the Samba Schools in São Paulo – 01

Solange Gomes, godmother of the drum band of samba school Camisa Verde e Branco - photo: Flavio Moraes/G1

Fourteen schools performed on two nights of Carnival São Paulo, starting Friday night 17 Febr.2012 in the Sambódromo of Anhembi in the north of the capital.

Ellen Cardoso, aka Mulher Moranguinho, Queen of the drum band of Camisa Verde e Branco - photo: Flavio Moraes/G1

Samba school Camisa Verde e Branco, vice-champion of the Access Group in 2011 opened the parades. Império de Casa Verde, X-9 Paulistana, Vai-Vai, Rosas de Ouro, Acadêmicos do Tucuruvi and Mancha Verde followed in this order. The last school entered the Sambódromo between 5am and 6am and finished the parades of the first day.

Painting the Body of a Carnival Model

Body painting is quite the fashion during carnival. With the queens, muses and samba dancers indicating that an absolute minimum of clothing is the best for a parade, body painting is in.
It all started more or less with Viviane Castra in 2009 parading with samba school X-9 Paulistina, who brought the image of the Amazon to São Paulo. With a tapa-sexo (a 2×3 cm piece of tape covering her female genitals) and only body painting, she conquered the carnival world of Brazil.

Viviana Castra in the parade of samba school X-9 Paulistina in 2009 -photo Sebastião Moreira-EFE

Viviane Castro paraded nearly nude only with U.S. President Barack Obama’s portrait on her body, painted on her left thigh, while then Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s face was painted on her right thigh.
Artist Betto Almeida, who says he has, for more than 12 years, been brushing, dripping and spraying paint on some of the most beautiful bodies Brazil’s Carnival has displayed, did Viviane’s paint job.

Children’s Carnival Inaugurates the Sambadrôme in Rio

In blue and green, girls are preparing to enter the parade for the junior samba school Império do Futuro

As I wrote in my previous post, the carnival parades in São Paulo started Friday night. But in the meantime in Rio de Janeiro the carnival parade of the samba schools of the future inaugurated the newly-remodelled Sambadrôme. A fascinating parade of children and youngsters, who guarantee the future of the samba schools.

The princess of the drum band of Golfinhos da Guanabara, Stephany of 6 years, showed that she has the samba in her legs

It were not the famous samba dancers, queens and carnival celebrities that will open the remodelled Marquis de Sapucaí in Rio de Janeiro, the next generation of the carnival schools inaugurated the Sambadrôme, although the reconstruction hasn’t finished yet.

Belém Elects its Queen of Queens

Thalita Maués brings another title to Grêmio Literário Português (the Portuguese Literary Guild).

Last week the various clubs of Belém presented their queens in the annual carnival contest for the Rainha das Rainhas (the Queen of the Queens).

In contrast to carnival in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, where the queens wear as less clothing as possible and allowed, the festival of the Rainha das Rainhas in Belém is an event where the queens suffer a lot. The fantasy they have to carry weighs some 30 to 40 kg. Instead of dancing

The Smallest Carnival ‘Fantasy’

Each year, during the carnival parades in Rio and São Paulo, it seems to be a sport for the muses, queens and samba dancers to show an absolute minimum of clothing, called “fantasia” (let’s call it a fantasy). Regulations forbid to go naked, otherwise they should give that a go. Since some years body painting and a small (what is called) tapa-sexo, a small piece of tape covering the female genitals, is the preferred outfit of many a samba dancer.
And each year they get smaller and smaller. This year a jewellery designer claims to have created the smallest ‘fantasy’ for the Carnival in São Paulo.
The creation in gold will be used by Mulher Pêra in the parade of samba school Águia de Ouro.
Other carnival muses promise a minimum of clothes in the Sambódromo.

Black Beauty Night and the Ebony Goddess

The block conquered the world with 'the most beautiful of the beautiful', a song sung by Daniela Mercury and one of the most classic of Bahia (photo: Divulgação/SecultBA)

The African-Bahian carnival block Ilê Aiyê organised the Night of the Black Beauty.
Ilê Aiyê, one of the most important African carnival blocks of Bahia, is celebrating this year its 38 anniversary. Ilê Aiyê was the first African-Bahian block of Bahia. Its history goes back to November 1, 1974, in Curuzu, region Liberdade, a neighbourhood with the largest black population of the country. The carnival block was born in the Terreiro de Candomblé (Shrine of the Candomblé) of the Gege-Nago Ilê Axé Jitolu nation, led by Mãe Hilda dos Santos.

Twelve candidates vying for the title of Ebony Goddess of the carnival block Ilê Aiyê (photo: Alberto Lima/Divulgação)

During the Night of the Black Beauty, the Ebony Goddess was chosen who will parade with the Ilê Aiyê during Carnival with the theme “Negros do Sul – Lá Também Tem” (Negros from the South – They also are there), which highlights the importance of the Negros in the cultural formation of

Polemics in Rio’s Carnival 2012

It is running towards Carnival 2012. São Paulo starts Friday next, while Rio will have its parades from Sunday onwards. In several towns carnival has already started. Pernambuco (Recife) and Bahia (Salvador) always start before anybody else is even thinking about carnival.

But it’s still pre-carnival time, so let’s have a look at some difficulties samba school Vila Isabel encountered.

Miss Universo Leila Lopes from Angola – Photo: Fernando Genaro / Fotoarena

The recently elected Miss Universe demanded USD 50,000 and is kicked out by samba school Vila Isabel in Rio de Janeiro.
The president of the association got angry and annulled the invitation to the Angolan Leila Lopes to take part in the carnival parade of Vila Isabel, which will honour her country, with the theme “Você semba lá…que eu sambo cá! O canto livre de Angola”.

Vale do Rio Doce, the worst company in the world?

Parody ad used during the disclosure of the Public Eye People's Award declaring Vale do Rio Doce the worst company in the world. The text says: "We transform rainforests into mines and dams - No matter what" - Photo: Adbusts

The Brazilian company Vale do Rio Doce, the second largest mining company in the world, was ahead of Japan’s TEPCO, accused of negligence in the safety of nuclear reactors that leaked in Fukushima.

Vale do Rio Doce was voted worst company in the world in reference to nature and human rights, by an Internet vote organized by the NGO’s The Berne Declaration and Greenpeace. Of the 88,000 votes, the Brazilian mining company was left with 25,000, about 800 more than Japan’s TEPCO at second place.

The voting site argued that the choice of the Brazilian company to compete for the “Public Eye People’s Award” (also known as the “Oscar of Shame”) is justified by a “history of 70 years marred by repeated human rights abuses, inhumane conditions of work and ruthless exploitation of nature”. Also mentioned is the participation of the mining company in the construction of the hydroelectric plant of Belo Monte in the Amazon region, and its environmental and social impacts.

Rio Xingu, where the hydroelectric plant of Belo Monte is projected

To defend itself, Vale do Rio Doce has created a website called “Vale Esclarece” (Vale clarifies). In it the company seeks to deconstruct point by point the arguments that led her to be nominated and elected. “Vale knows that mining activities generate impacts and, therefore,