Carnaval weekend

Carnaval is one of those long weekends we spend a lot of time planning for.  We don’t go anywhere, just across the bay to Rio.  Luiz has a lifetime of experience working every last bit of excitement out of the event and he still insists on a full tilt weekend.

We’re not the twenty-something party guys we once were.  Actually, we’ve held our own into our fifty-something years, but it is worth noting that things have changed.  Now we take pain relief medication and sore muscle cream in our overnight bags.

Anyway – I thought rather than a trip tick log of our weekend I would share some thoughts and impressions we had along the way, in no particular order.

-          Old haunts like Elite (a gay club open only during Carnaval) hosting a 15 person band playing classic samba tunes can still draw an over-flowing crowd.  Might I add that the crowd has aged with the club – so we felt right at home.  Luiz danced nonstop until 4 in the morning.

-          Tip: best to buy your subway ticket WAY in advance.  The line during Carnaval can take 30 minutes! (Luiz gets a free pass, including me, due to his chronic health situation.)

-          Packing your own food and drink saves a bundle.  We entered the Sambadromo with two thermal bags filled with beer/ice along with a plastic bag with our sandwiches.  Carnaval night cost us only R$8 for ice.

-          The Rio Carnaval street party scene (blocos) seems to have exploded in recent years.  Everywhere we went in Rio – if there was a public square, there was a bloco.  Everywhere.

-          Angels do exist.  Rachel and Daniel generously offered us their apartment, while they were away, to crash between all-night marathons from Saturday through Wednesday.  Mil beijos!

-          Contrary to established lore, Banda de Ipanema is no longer a gay bloco. There was a time (for many, many years) when the gays and the meticulously adorned, larger than life drag performers would crowd the Banda de Ipanema bloco.  Trust me – those days are gone.

-          This year the city government of Rio rolled out a strategy to calm the frenzied street vendors selling beer and other beverages along every curb throughout Carnaval.  Vendors had to get a license or their goods would be confiscated. (The price was minimal.)  It worked!  Things were calmer, while there were still a gazillion vendors on the street.  The city also promoted a campaign to discourage peeing on the streets (UUUURRGGHHH!!!!). It included a hundred times more chemical porta-toilets.  This also seemed to have an impact.  This was definitely a case of Rio getting caught being good.  Hurray!

-          While I have long maintained that the best kept secret among travel agents around the world is that Carnaval in Rio happens during the rainy season (and it almost ALWAYS rains during Carnaval) this year we were fortunate to view Sunday’s Parade with only a tiny bit of rain.  Monday had a downpour during Grande Rio’s performance, but otherwise was dry.  It was an unusually dry year.

-          Our friends Lilian, Zanza, Paulo and Liani ran the marathon this year.  They paraded with the “Access” group, Cubango, on Saturday, sat with us in the stands all night on Sunday to watch half of the “Special” schools parade, then returned Monday night to parade with Beija Flor, stepping off at 5:00 a.m., for the second half of the Special groups.  Can you say exhausted!?

-          Time is turned topsy turvey during Carnaval.  Day becomes night and night becomes day.  Then it takes a few days to get back on your feet.

Any Carnaval experiences/thoughts you wish to share?

My computer died - sigh

It was bound to happen.  I´ve been plunking away on a nearly six year old Dell laptop.  There have been warnings.  Now I am writing from an undisclosed location squeezed into a teeny tiny cubicle in a LAN house.

And, since this is Carnaval weekend, it may be a while before I can get my data recovered and set up a new system.

The good news is my reading time has expanded by a factor of 10.

See you soon (and in comments sections elswhere...)

Bom Carnaval.

Catch Ivete Sangalo live today on YouTube

Today at 18:30 Brasília time, get in the mood for Carnaval by tuning in to a live transmission of the Carnival rehearsal of Ivete Sangalo, one of the most popular singers in the Salvador festival. Check it out here http://www.youtube.com/carnaval

Here Ivete makes her invitation.

Attending Rio's samba schools' rehearsals

This final month before Carnaval is packed with Samba Schools meeting to rehearse in their own quadra (huge community building), in the streets, or even in the Sambadromo.  These rehearsals are a blast.  The energy is electric and the pounding percussion music along with the singing of the School’s samba works its way into your bones until there is no resisting the urge to dance.

When people ask me about planning their trip to Rio for Carnaval I always suggest they come a couple of weeks prior to carnival so they can take advantage of these high energy nighttime parties.

Last night Luiz went to Beija-Flor’s rehearsal with some friends.  At about 4:00 a.m. I heard him getting home, showering and then coming to bed.  These rehearsals are not for the faint of heart.

I’ve listed here the Schools, their address, rehearsal night(s), what their School colors are, what the entrance fee is to get in to the rehearsal (if I could find it), as well as their website for more information.

If you go, be sure to wear clothing that features the School’s colors.  Google Maps where you are going and understand your transportation approach.  Many of the schools list bus lines that access their quadras on their websites.  In many cases you do not want to be a gringo wandering the streets in a strange neighborhood at 3:00 in the morning.

Check out a few different Schools.  The energy varies and the samba is certainly different.  My favorite part is often the street party out front of the quadra, which will continue until the sun comes up.

Note: if the School lists two nights of rehearsals and one is Saturday, keep in mind that the Saturday rehearsal may very well be more of a fundraising and energy boosting party than a technical rehearsal.  Some people prefer the party night, others the rehearsal night.

HAVE FUN!

BEIJA-FLOR

Pracinha Wallace Paes Leme 1025 - Nilópolis
Rehearsal night: Thursdays 21:00
Colors: blue and white

Entrance fee: R$10

http://beija-flor.com.br/___2011_novo/index.html

GRANDE RIO

Colégio São José, Av. Presidente Kennedy - Duque de Caxias
Rehearsal night: Fridays 22:00
Colors: red, green and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.academicosdogranderio.com.br/

IMPERATRIZ LEOPOLDINENSE

Rua Professor Lacê 235 – Ramos
Rehearsal night: Sundays 20:00
Colors: green, white and gold

Entrance fee:

http://www.imperatrizleopoldinense.com.br/

MANGUEIRA

Rua Visconde de Niterói 1072 - Mangueira
Rehearsal night: Saturdays 22:00
Colors: green and pink

Entrance fee:

http://www.mangueira.com.br/

MOCIDADE

Rua Coronel Tamarindo 38 - Padre Miguel
Rehearsal night: Saturdays 22:00
Colors: green and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.gresmocidade.com.br/

PORTELA

Rua Clara Nunes 81 – Madureira
Wednesdays 20:00
Rehearsal night: Fridays 22:00
Colors: blue and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.gresportela.com.br/

PORTO DA PEDRA

Rua Lúcio Tomé Feteira 290, Vila Lage - São Gonçalo
Samba nights: Wednesdays 20:00
Colors: red and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.unidosdoportodapedra.com.br/index.php

SALGUEIRO

Rua Silva Teles 104 - Tijuca
Rehearsal night: Saturdays 22:00
Colors: red and white

Entrance fee: R$50

http://www.salgueiro.com.br/

SAO CLEMENTE

Av. Presidente Vargas, 3102 - Centro
Rehearsal nights: Tuesdays 20:00, Saturdays 22:00
Colors: yellow and black

Entrance fee:

http://www.saoclemente.com.br/joomla/

UNIAO DA ILHA

Estrada do Galeão,322 - Ilha do Governador
Samba nights: Tuesdays 20:00, Saturdays 22:00
Colors: blue, red and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.gresuniaodailha.com.br/index.html

UNIDOS DA TIJUCA

Clube dos Portuários, Av. Francisco Bicalho 47 – São Cristóvão
Rehearsal nights: Fridays and Saturdays 20:00
Colors: yellow and blue

Entrance fee: R$30

http://unidosdatijuca.com.br/

VILA ISABEL

Av. 28 de Setembro 382 - Vila Isabel
Rehearsal nights: Tuesdays 20:00, Saturdays 22:00
Colors: blue and white

Entrance fee: R$10

http://www.gresunidosdevilaisabel.com.br/

Horrific fire at Samba City in Rio

A tragedy of a different sort has befallen Rio.  It does not, to be sure, compare in terms of lives and livelihoods lost to the ongoing struggles brought on by flooding in nearby mountain towns.  There families continue to search for lost relatives and remain camped out in school gymnasiums awaiting what might come next.  At last count the dead have surpassed 850 and there are still some 400+ people missing.  It was proclaimed Brazil’s worst natural disaster several hundred fatalities ago…

But now in Rio, just one month before the annual Carnaval festival that brings a bit of joy and levity into people’s otherwise very difficult lives, there has been a tragic fire at the Samba City complex were Schools design and build their huge floats and create thousands of elaborate costumes.

What a horror show.  Early Monday morning fire broke out in one of the barracãos (warehouse work spaces) and quickly grew to engulf the entire three story space, while spreading into the two neighboring spaces as well.

See more photos here.

The plastic, foam, polyester, feathers, fiberglass, wood and other flammable materials used to create the floats and costumes made the fire fierce and fast-growing.

At escola Grande Rio nearly everything was lost: floats, costumes, design molds, computers, cell phones, cash reserves – more than R$7 million in losses.  Thankfully the bateria’s (percussion band’s) instruments were off site at the time and so have been spared.

It may be “just a parade” to some, but creating a winning Carnaval presentation is big business, and so much of the effort resonates in people’s hearts throughout the year.  It is a full time job for some, and hundreds of workers are employed for a good six months to make it a reality.

Just as some Brazilians identify so strongly with their beloved futebol teams, many in Rio’s poorer neighborhoods invest their hearts in their School of Samba.  This loss has cut people to the bone.

Organizers and the City’s leadership have quickly moved to guarantee that all is done to preserve and support everything possible to ensure a celebratory Carnaval event.  Leaders from the Schools affected have proclaimed proudly that, while works of art that have been up to 8 months in the making are now gone, the spirit of Carnaval can not be taken from the members of their communities

The show will go on.  It is sure to be an emotional event.

[Two photos taken from here.]

School of Samba technical rehearsal

Grrl's got some gams!

In the weeks running up to the big Carnaval parade/competition in Rio each School gets two opportunities to take a practice run down the parade route in the Sambódromo.  This is an important opportunity to get a feel for how each section of the parade will fit in the space and to get the pacing down so that the School can get in, fill the route, then exit all within the precise time allowed.

It’s also a great opportunity for folks like us to go the Sambódromo to soak up a little pre-Carnaval fun.

Last night Portela and Porto da Pedra had practice runs.  This is serious business.  Whole communities have invested a lot of time and A LOT of money to produce a winning parade (the storyline, the samba, the floats, the costumes).  If you are among those participating, you do not want to miss these practice runs.  And if you do skip one, your group leader will call you out for it.

The street was alive with food and beverage vendors and the ambient sound was pounding with the sambas of each School.  Everyone was proudly wearing their School T-shirt, while the senior members, or other dignitaries of the School, were wearing their more classy printed Polos or button up shirts.

I’m always touched to see men and women in their 70s walking around like peacocks in their official garb.  They have likely been participating with the School for a generation or more.

Tens of thousands of family, friends and fans filled the bleachers while the thousands of paraders practiced their routine.  It’s not just fun and games, however.  The overall School may have one to two dozen Alas (sections of 150 – 300 people), each with their own costume and choreography.  Coaches for each Ala are quick to correct you when you step out of place, rush you when you fail to keep pace, remind you to sing every word, and stoke you into expressing more alegria.  All of these aspects will be carefully judged and scored when the big day comes.

The Schools compete to win, not just to have fun.

But we were there to have fun.  Luiz and I, with our friends, enjoyed the street scene, drank beer, ate grilled meat from a stick, found the gay gathering point, and took in the eye candy.

By about 2:30 a.m. we headed home (Luiz had to work the next morning at 8:00).

Gostei.  Qualidade de vida.

Rio Carnaval tickets for sale

Thanks to the forever unexplainable ongoing good luck that is my husband (he wins everything) we were able to purchase more tickets to Rio’s Carnaval parade than we need.  In fact, within our circle of friends we had a good year and many people were able to buy tickets, so our extras are not needed among our group, which goes to the event almost every year.  Having extra tickets is not an easy feat.  Tickets sold out (for both nights) in less than 10 minutes.  Look here for more about our phone-frenzy morning the day they went on sale.

We have six tickets for sale for Sunday, March 6^th in Sector 3, the night we will be attending. They are available for R$275 each (that’s reais, not dollars).  (The trusted website many folks turn to for tickets sells the same ticket for R$375 – but they are already sold out.)

Our group of friends is a bit crazy about Carnaval.  We go to many, many pre-Carnaval samba school rehearsals.  Most everyone knows all the words to all the Schools’ sambas before the parade.  And this year four of our friends will be parading with Beja Flor on Monday night (well, actually at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, but hey…)

Sector 3 is the second section up on the left, the first is Sector 1

Sector 3 is right near the beginning of the parade.  The seats are up in the bleachers with a great “looking down from above” view of everything.  As is true for most Sectors, there are not assigned seats.  You have to arrive early and camp out to get a good spot.  We always bring sandwiches, salgadinhos, fruit and treats – along with beer and water to last us through the night.  You just can’t bring in glass containers. 

The insiders among us will tell you that Sunday has a “better” lineup than Monday.  That is, the more popular or accomplished Schools will be parading Sunday, with some exceptions.  The champion from last year, Unidos da Tijuca, will be parading then.  And the night includes Mangueira, the oldest and some would say the most popular and traditional of all the schools.  For the full schedule, look here. It promises to be one heck of a show.  Plan to spend all night.  The competition begins at 9:00 p.m. and continues until the sun rises.

Overall safety is not an issue within the Sambadromo.  Everyone brings their camera.  Food and beverages are sold by vendors throughout the night. It’s a good idea to bring a little stadium cushion to sit on!

Anyway, I will write more about how a night watching the Carnaval parade in Rio works as we get closer.  WAY too much info for one post!

Let me know if you have any questions or if you are interested in the tickets.  Bom Carnaval!

UPDATE: Two tickets have been sold. (That took 4.5 hours...)  Just four left. (Selling only in pairs.)

You know you are in Brazil when

You know you are in Brazil when the normal, everyday, all hours of the day Carnaval celebration television commercial looks like this.

Tickets for Rio’s Carnaval go on sale tomorrow

Think: Ticketron and Lady Gaga or Rolling Stones.

Tomorrow, beginning moments before 9:00 a.m., everyone we know will be hitting re-dial from all their phones trying to get through to the computers that will be taking ticket orders.  All of the available tickets for both Sunday and Monday’s big event (March 6th and 7th) will sell out in less than 10 minutes.

It’s always a frantic 10 minutes.  Busy, re-dial.  Busy, re-dial.  Busy, redial.

Each sector has its own phone number.  If the computer picks up here's how it goes (something to this effect): "You have reached the ticket agency for Rio Carnaval 2011.  Listen carefully.  Have a paper and pencil handy, as well as your CPF number.  You may reserve up to four tickets for Sunday, March 6th.  Please enter the number of tickets you wish to reserve, or press zero if you do not want any tickets for Sunday's event.  Please wait... You my reserve up to 4 tickets for Monday, March 7th.  Please enter...  Please wait.  Your order is confirmed...  Your reservation number is...  To pick up your tickets you must go to the Bradesco Bank office in Centro Rio on January 13 or 14 in Centro Rio... (and pay for them).  If you do not show up, your tickets will be made available to others who wish to purchace them."

While we all try to get tickets to attend, LOTS of people are trying to get tickets because they can be sold INSTANTLY upon exiting the Bradesco office where the ticktes are purchased for up to twice their value.

It’s always a crazy morning.  I’ll let you know how it works out.

UPDATE!!!  Luiz is a super lucky man!  We used our home phone and his cell phone to try and connect.  (My cell - I forgot to re-activate my chip for January so it was a dud.)  Luiz got through once and used his CPF to get 4 tickets for both Sunday and Monday, then he got through again and used my CPF to get 4 tickets for Sunday -- by that time all tickets for Monday were sold out.

Of the six other friends who were dialing for tickets this morning 3 of them got tickets as well!  So it looks like our entire group will be going. *happy dance*

We made it to the Sambadromo

Luiz and I got last-minute tickets to Carnaval in Rio. I’m not sure how I can recount our long night of Carnaval revelry in the Sambadromo using my customary short-form post style – but here goes.

After waking at 7:30 a.m. in Itaipú to get back to our apartment in time to refresh, pack and prepare for a 10:00 a.m. pick up, Luiz and I set out for a long day and night escaping our current emotionally overwhelming situation for a traditional “forget it all and have fun” annual festival. Our friends whisked us off to Rio for a pre-Carnaval lunch/party at the home of Dora and Sergão – always top-shelf fun.

By about 3:00 p.m. we had to make our way via subway to the Sambadromo to stake out a good position in the stands. Stopping for food and drink along the way, bags packed, we entered the custom parade route stadium (under a punishing sun) in time to get a reasonably good spot.

We enjoyed every minute of our time waiting for things to begin by laughing together and singing numerous sambas – feeling the pulse of the celebrants around us. Everyone had a story. Everyone came with passion. We were in a good spot. Shortly after 9:00 p.m. things got underway.

I think almost everyone agreed that Sunday was the better of the two nights for pure star-power. The schools were terrific. There were low points (like when the paparazzi scared the wits out of the little girl trying to be queen of Viradouro’s bateria and made here cry…), but in general we were dazzled by the spectacle.

Our favorite school, Beija Flor, finally stepped off and paraded at about 4:30 a.m. They did not disappoint. But I must admit I was beginning to fade.

After the night’s competition came to a close our group took the crowded subway back to Dora and Sergão’s to eat breakfast, collect husbands and children, then make our way back home.

Once back in our apartment, in the shower, I became aware of just how tired I was and how my feet felt like hamburger perhaps unadvisedly withdrawn from my sandals. It had been a long night.

But it was not over – at this point we got on a bus and rode out to Itaipú to reunite with Luiz’s mom for the rest of the holiday. I held a vision of sleeping in a hammock near the pool.

Rio hits 115 degrees

It's not just our imaginations. It's been hotter than anyone can remember. And when we do get a little rain it is too little to make a dent in the heat.

Here's an excerpt from an article documenting the record temperatures.

"Cariocas, as Rio natives are called, have been punished by the intense heat and their Marvelous City is now among the hottest places in the world. This Wednesday Rio recorded the second largest thermal sensation on the planet.

According to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE), at 1 pm, Jacarepaguá, in the city's West side recorded the second largest thermal sensations on the planet: 43.9 degrees centigrade (111 Fahrenheit), losing only to Ada, in Ghana, in the African continent. On Tuesday this number was even higher. Rio reached a thermal sensation of 46.3 C (115.3 F).

The Sahara is not a match. The top thermal sensation of that desert on Wednesday was a mere 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

The rain that fell on Tuesday didn't help much. The National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) tells that there hasn't been so hot a February since the institute started its measurement 100 years ago. The average temperature of the first nine days of the month was 39.7° C (103.5° F.)"

We keep water bottles in the freezer and go through them like nothing. Really, the best solution (pun intended) is to drink icy fresh coconut water. Ahhhhhh.

My prediction is that all this heat guarantees us a rainy, rainy Carnaval. That's nothing new. It seems to always pour rain on all those feathers, sequins and sweaty bodies.

It's Carnaval - feel the love

Carnaval coming up

It’s nearly Carnaval and we still don’t have definite plans for the long weekend. Last year we went to Cabo Frio for a fun, if loud, time. Luiz and I also enjoyed an unexpected friendship on the beach.

The year before we went to the Sambadromo with our gang of friends for a more traditional Rio Carnaval – cheering on our favorite schools of samba.

Living in and around Rio there are a mix of reactions by residents to the annual blow-out party. Some have had enough over the years and simply want to GET OUT of town and find some peace and quiet. Avoiding the tourist crush and inflated prices is the object. Some go so far as to rent their apartments on a short term basis and make a killing.



Other locals feel the buzz of Carnaval stirring in the soles of their feet months in advance. With every passing week it gets more exciting. They belong to their local samba school, have been paying monthly all year long for their fantasia (Carnaval costume), and attend twice weekly rehearsals to help their school be the champion.

We are among the locals who don’t always parade (although we have on several occasions) but who also feel the buzz. The run up to Carnaval is an increasingly ecstatic time. We go to blocos (organized community street parties), attend samba school rehearsals, listen to the various sambas from each of the schools, and definitely like to be “in the house” when the parades are done.

But if you hesitate you lose. This year all of the tickets for both days of Carnaval were sold out in about 8 minutes. If you don’t have ten of your friends working speed dial on their phones – tough luck.

A few months ago we thought we might go to Boa Esperança, or maybe organize a party and watch the event on a big screen TV. But nothing really came together. Now we are playing it by ear. There is still a chance we will go to the Sambadromo, although it would be in a less-than-optimal location. Other options are fermenting.

I’ll keep you posted.

Viradouro in Niterói

As we get closer to Carnaval the various schools rehearse in the street, or more rarely, in the Sambadromo itself. We missed our chance to see our hometown favorite school Viradouro do a run-through in the Sambadromo. But last weekend we went downtown to see them parade down main street – in all their glory. The folks in green are from Cubango, a sister-school working their way up to the big leagues.

I’ve said it before – there’s nothing like 10,000 Brazilians singing, dancing, and making music all to the same beat. I can’t get enough.

Here’s a quick look at the fun last Saturday.

Carnaval season has begun

It’s almost 1:00 pm and Luiz is still asleep. We got home at 4:00 am last night (this morning). Carnaval season has officially gotten started for us. Yesterday we went to Beija Flor da Nilópolis’ rehearsal. I love me some community partying.

In two cars we drove the 40 minutes or so to get to Nilópolis, a suburb of Rio and very proud home of the Beija Flor samba school. Beija Flor (Humming Bird) is a 60 year old school (community carnaval organization) that has taken first place in Rio’s annual competition in 5 of the past 7 years. The enthusiasm for this school runs high and is widespread.

Thursday night is rehearsal night and the entire neighborhood turns out. The street in front of the quadra (club space, rehearsal hall) is shut down and packed with food, beverage and T-shirt vendors. Everyone from 75 year old revelers who have been parading with Beija Flor since the beginning to 10 year old soon-to-be passistas (featured, celebrated, samba beauties extraordinaire) with their older sister are gathering in the hall to sing and dance – and learn their choreography.

The bateria (300+ member percussion group) pounded out the rhythm while a group of men sang the samba – again, and again, and again – for hours. It never got old. In fact it was hypnotizing and energizing

We hung out in a corner next to the Baianas ala (parade section featuring senior women) while they dutifully kept in line waiting for the word to march forward and rehearse.

Nothing but smiles. Everywhere smiles. Everyone dancing. All night.

Have I mentioned that I love Brazil?