lets live days of fantasy..
The Samba School Parade at Rio´s Sambodrome is something everybody has to experience at least once in life. The event is broadcast live to several countries, and all Brazilian states. Watching on TV is cool, but not half as much fun as being there. You have to mingle with the crowd, sweat, maybe even march with a samba school.
Unlike Street Carnival the Samba Parade is not free. Tickets are actually quite expensive, but more than worth the investment. Fourteen special group schools march on Carnival Sunday and Monday, seven each night. The parade starts at 9 p.m. and goes on until sunlight the next day, around 6-7 a.m. This samba marathon is also a fierce competition. Each year a school is downgraded from special to access group, and vice-versa.
In case you are getting completely mixed up, Samba Schools are not teaching institutions. A Samba School is an association of people from the same neighborhood, usually a working class community (or favela) in a suburban area. They get together on a regular basis for rehearsals and samba nights. Samba schools provide valuable jobs to the community, that is employed year-round in the production of costumes and floats.
Each year schools choose a different theme. In the year 2000, for instance, schools highlighted different periods of Brazilian history, celebrating the country's 500th anniversary. In 2004, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sambodrome, samba schools were allowed to re-edit their favorite Carnival themes from the past.
Samba Schools may take to the Parade anything from 3,000 to 5,000 members, and from 6 to 8 floats. They try to illustrate the theme chosen. All costumes and floats are original, made from scratch each year. You may think of it as a tropical opera, or rather, of several operas happening in a one night.
A Samba School has a period ranging from 60 to 75 minutes to make it through the runway. This means that each member will actually spend only about 25-30 minutes tops in the Sambodrome. The experience is so intense, though, that the memories last a lifetime.
Several aspects are judged by a jury of experts chosen by LIESA, the league of Samba Schools. Judges are strategically stationed in odd and even sectors, to make sure the schools do their best all the way through.The 6 schools that score best earn the coveted honor of marching again the following weekend, at the Winners Parade on Saturday.
Of course all Cariocas consider themselves experts when it comes to judging a samba school. Many keep a personal score to compare (and inevitably disagree) with the final result. Cariocas support their favorite school just like they support their soccer team - with a lot of passion. In Portuguese you do not say you support Mangueira or Flamengo. You say what would translate simply to I am Mangueira or I am Flamengo.
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