We sailed into Rio de Janeiro on Saturday morning of Carnival weekend. Four years ago, we experienced the best of Carnival and considered it one of the highlights of our travels. It takes some conditioning, but if you can commit yourself to a number of all-nighters, there is nothing like it in the world. You can’t get the full impact by going for only a few hours. I tried to think of it like an important international business trip to a time zone 12 hours off of my body clock.

We invited our good friends, Ric and Loraine, who still work in the U.S. They could only spare a long weekend, but agreed to make the trek. An over-night flight from Miami, followed by the 11PM-6AM formal “Magic Ball,” followed by marching in the Sambadrome and then watching the parade to the end (5:30AM) and, finally, an overnight flight back home to work. They’re my heroes!

The “Magic Ball” is THE high society event of the season. Famous singers, politicians, and actors attend, drawing large crowds to the red-carpet entry. It’s the place to see and be seen. We didn’t know anyone, but it’s the kick-off to Carnival, so we joined the fun to get in the mood. We managed to stay to the end and got back to the ship in time to meet the morning tour group going out for the day.

Famous Ric and Loraine

11PM

7AM

But the big highlight is the Parade held in the Sambadrome. To appreciate this extravaganza, I need to give you a little background. There are a lot of misperceptions, or at least lack of understanding of this event.
The Carnival parade in Rio is not a crowd of drunks trying to catch cheap bead necklaces like in New Orleans. It’s not a crowded march through the streets dominated by petty theft. It’s not a night of nudity (South America is a largely Catholic continent that doesn’t tolerate nudity.) And it’s not an event for the wealthy like the Ball.

It’s the Brazilian “Super Bowl” – a very serious competition that draws all social classes together. The main contenders are 12 Samba Schools (very large guilds, mostly from the poor favelas) who work the entire year to develop a theme, a song, a dance, hundreds of costumes, and numerous enormous floats. The contest runs over two nights, with 6 schools competing each night in the Sambadrome – a long, specially-built stadium that holds 90,000. Each school, often 3,000 people strong, parades through the Sambadrome in waves (alas) of costumes and floats for 90 minutes. Points (and penalties) are awarded for a long list of elements and the winner is declared on Ash Wednesday. The colors, the energy, the music – it’s just impossible to capture in words or pictures.
For a donation, a limited number are allowed to dress and dance with a school. We did it four years ago, and wanted Ric and Loraine to experience it. It’s very, very hot (95-100F) and hard work dancing, smiling, and pretending to sing the words for almost 2 hours. But the school is being judged on every little detail, so we did our best. It’s hard to describe the feeling entering the “gauntlet” with bright lights and a cheering crowd of 90,000. Such a privilege.
When we finished, we drank four quarts of water and then went to great seats to watch until dawn. Though come to think of it, I don’t know why they bother with seats – everyone stands, dances, and sings all night. The passion is palpable.
Debra calls this “The Greatest Show on Earth.” I remembered it that way from four years ago, but didn’t expect to feel the same on the second round. I was wrong. I’ve been to the Super Bowl half-time show and to the closing of the Winter Olympics – not even close. This is a spectacle like no other. If you have a bucket list, this needs to be on it.

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It really was hard to get down to a 10 minute video, but here it is: