Live Blogging from Carnaval

So, despite that fact that Matt and I are holed up in Belo Horizonte during Carnaval, as far away from the craziness of Rio as we could get, we were still really excited being in Brazil during this time. No, we weren't planning on going out and doing anything crazy, we're still total nerds. But we were really excited about getting to watch the parades on TV.

If you've never seen footage of the Carnaval parades in Rio before, I suggest you check out the clip below immediately. It honestly makes the Macy Day's Parade look like it was produced by a 2nd grader. Here's how it works: There are 12 samba schools in the main parade, each with between 3600-4100 people in them. They have 82 minutes to traverse the 1/4 mile length of the Sambadome, during which all of those 4000 people dance and sing while carrying what looks like 50 extra pounds in costume weight. Every school has a theme which their costumes and floats revolve around loosely. First comes the commisao da frente, which are a small group of dancers who have a very precise, choreographed dance they perform. Then the flag carriers, a man and a woman, and trust me you haven't seen a hoop skirt like the one she's got on since Gone with the Wind. Eventually, the bateria appears, which is the huge collection of percussionists that keep the beat for the entire parade.

I wondered why Carnaval is never really broadcast on television in the United States. And trust me it's not because of lewdness, because I've seen worse on cable. I think it might have something to with the enormous liberty that these schools take with history, nations, and people. For instance, the following is a list of all the characters that I saw samba last night: Wizards, Dick Tracy, Pancho Villa, Aliens, Jack Sparrow, Buddha, Batman, Moses, Flappers, Pharoahs, Michael Jackson, Marines (I think my favorite), Druids, Conquistadors, and the Flames of the Inquisition (I kid you not). They seem to be equal opportunity offenders at least.
Still, I don't think I've ever seen that many happy people, even at Disney World.

Sometimes, while in Latin America, you often find yourself critquing the organization, bureaucracy, and just the general togetherness of the people here. But no more. Perhaps they don't believe in informational dissemination quite the way we do, but one thing's for sure: they can sure as hell put on a parade.