Carnaval: History and other Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Local Custom Tips

Where to begin with Carnaval! Carnaval is a holiday that originated from various pagan spring festivals. It all started in Rio when it was imported from Italy in the late 19th century with Carnaval balls which then lead to legendary balls in the Copacabana Palace Hotel in the golden era from the 1930's to 50's.

The Samba Parade started in the 1930's in Parco XI and then later on it moved to Ave Presidente Vargas. Now the parade takes place in a purposely built street that is lined with grandstand seats known as the Sambadrome. It's been here since 1984 and is what you see on your TV's back home. The parade is made up from different Samba Schools or clubs from each favela (shantytown) who start to rehearse and get ready up to 6 months before the actual event.

As well as the Samba Parade, there are a whole host of other activities that happen around the time the parade takes place such as balls, street carnavals (also known as Bloc Parties) and dances.

Carnaval not only happens in Rio but all over Brazil but it's normally said that the best one happens in Rio although other city's such as San Paulo may say there's is better! All the major Carnavals are broadcast on TV to huge audiences where the winning school is announced a few days later after judges scores have been added. I watched some of this in the airport when flying back home and there were a lot of other people watching as well.

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When: The Carnaval lasts for four days from the Saturday to the Tuesday immediately preceeding Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. Carnival Sunday is seven weeks before Easter Sunday. This means that the dates of each Carnaval each year change so here's the Carnaval dates for the next few years:

2006: February 25,26,27,28
2007: February 17,18,19,20
2008: February 2,3,4,5
2009: February 21,22,23,24
2010: February 13,14,15,16

Where: The main Samba Parade takes place at the Sambodromo (Sambadrome) which can be reached by taking the Metro to either Central or Praca Onze. The metro runs around the clock during Carnaval so you don't have to worry about leaving early. It's quite fun going on the Metro as you see the paraders commuting in their costumes which is quite funny to see as they struggle to get through the doors as their costumes are so big!

What happens: The Samba Parade takes place on the Sunday and Monday (the middle two days of Carnaval) from 9pm till sunlight the following day, around 6-7am. It's a long show if you want to stay for the whole show. I only managed to stay till about 2.30am before I had enough. You get what I call Carnaval overload after a while as the parade gets a little samey. The locals love it, of course, and they must have great stamina to stay for the whole parade. Make sure you get there about an hour or so before the start. There should be seats available. There are about 7 samba schools in each nights parade. Each school takes about 60-75 minutes to make their way down the street. Then there's a 15 minute gap before the next school enters. During this time there's a fleet of cleaners and dust carts that clean the street (it's like their own mini-parade and is quite funny to watch!).

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I bought my carnaval tickets before I left home on the internet at http://arara.biz. There's some very useful information on this website about everything you need to know about the Carnaval, purchasing tickets and ticket prices. This is another good page: http://rio-carnival.net/samba_parade/samba_parade_tickets.php. The price of the tickets vary depending on where you sit in the Sambadrome. The Sambadrome is divided into different sectors where each one offers slightly different views (kind of like going to a football match). The higher the price, the better the view. After paying (which is done via Paypal), your tickets are then delivered to your hotel on days to suit you. Easy!

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Website: http://arara.biz/

Here's what I would bring to the Carnaval:

1. Food and drink is allowed in so bring what you want. There are guys that come round with all kinds of things for you to buy from drinks to burgers.
2. Take an umbrella and a light coat as it might rain during the night and you'll be wet for a long time if you don't.
3. Take a camera/camcorder. It's safe inside the Sambadrome as you'll probably be sitting next to tourists as the ticket prices are too high for some of the poorer locals. Take care outside as it's very crowded and there's all sorts of people around. I walked out at about 3am and the area was packed and I didn't like it that much when I was carrying my rucksack around back to the metro station.
4. Bring a cushion as the 'seats' are actually concrete steps and you'll have to sit on them for hours. Again, there are people selling these in case you forget.
5. Bring so info along about the samba schools to read during the breaks. You will probably receive a booklet when you get your tickets so take this with you to pass the time.

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If you want to taste the Carnaval atmosphere but can't afford the ticket prices of the Samba Parade, then there's this free option. Street bands move through the streets and thousands of people join in, many in their self-made costumes, jumping, dancing and boozing away as much as they can stomach. Sometimes there'll be a truck blasting out loud samba music with young girls dancing on the top. For full details of where they'll be for Carnaval 2006, check out the website below.

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Website: http://rio-carnival.net/rio_carnival/2006_rio_carnival.php#street_parties