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Rio de Janeiro Carnaval
Carnaval, is an annual celebration in the Roman Catholic tradition that allows merry-making and red meat consumption before the more sober 40 days of Lent penance whichculminates with Holy or Passion Week and Easter. The tradition of Carnaval parades was probably influenced by the French or German courts and the custom was brought by the Portuguese or Brazilian Imperialfamilies who had Bourbon and Austrian ancestors. Up until the time of the marchinhas, the revelry was more of a high class and Caucasian-led event. The influence of the African-Brazilian drums andmusic was more noticeable from the first half of the 20th century. Rio de Janeiro has many Carnaval choices, including the famous samba school (Escolas de Samba) parades in the sambadromeexhibitioncenter and the popular blocos de carnaval, street revelry, which parade in almost every corner of the city. The most famous ones are:
* Cordão do Bola Preta: Parades in the centre of the city. It isone of the most traditional carnavals. In 2008, 500,000 people attended in one day.. In 2011, a record 2 million people attended the city covering three different metro stations!
* Suvaco do Cristo:Band that parades in the Botanic Garden, directly below the Redeemer statue's arm. The name translates to 'Christ's armpit' in English, and was chosen for that reason.
* Carmelitas: Band that wassupposedly created by nuns, but in fact is just a theme chosen by the band. It parades in Santa Teresa, a bairro from where one can see beautiful panoramas.
* Simpatia é Quase Amor: One of themost popular parades in Ipanema. Translates as 'Friendliness is almost love'.
* Banda de Ipanema: The most traditional in Ipanema. It attracts a wide range of revellers, including families and awide spectrum of the LGBT/Queerpopulation (notably spectacular drag queens).
In 1840, the first Carnaval was celebrated with a masked ball. As years passed, adorned floats and costumed revelers became...