Go for it

Rio Carnaval
The world focus is on Rio, a new first ever femail President and worst natural disaster ever began 2011 as the marvelous city seeks to make believers our of skeptics as it readies to host the two largest global events in the space of two years. FIFIA's World Cup Soccer in 2014 followed by the 2016 Olympics.   Considering it has hosted the globe's most spectacular annual cultural pageant for

decades this might not be as tough to pull off as some think.  Find out more at carnaval.com/brazil/news  and carnaval.com/rio/carnaval
Rio Carnaval 2011 comes late which was helpful but still not enough to let us move the content at CarnavalCity.com  to a new platform from defunct wik.is.  All things in time. We did our most thorough job ever documenting Rio Carnaval 2010 in flickr but the scale of the move was a bit much for local talent so we will need to promise a better job for 2012.

With 7 degrees of separation on our twitter account we found this commentary on what ails us: "The fixation on making everything productive and rational cuts us off from the world of the spontaneous that is home to real knowledge. Wisdom, is to be found in the realms outside intentionality, in the inner reaches of art, expression and religion. "The whole culture is suffering from overconscious intentionality, overseriousness, overemphasis on productivity and work," psychologist and cultural explorer Bradford Keeney told me. "We've forgotten that the whole picture requires a dance between leisure and work."  --- Joe Robinson is author of the new book, "Don't Miss Your Life"  To which we might also add the antidote is Rio Carnaval

We make regular additions to the Rio image server For the latest on the Carnaval go to the

Carnaval 2010   We have also put together some RSS Brazil Carnaval newsfeeds along with a review of last year in Brazil here at

carnivalservice.com [since 2006] All in English with over 20 well done pages devoted to the Rio Carnaval story. Tickets, costumes to everything for sale with a promise of good service after you arrive as well.  Google search winner

brazilcarnival.com.br || News || FAQs || Blog
A comprehensive guide and a regular source of news. Great fotos from top professional photographers. The information keeps growing as well. Costume service coming

RIOtur English Riotur City of Rio de Janeiro Tourism Authority at rio.rj.gov.br/ || carnaval 404?
 " The high spot of Rio's fun-in-the-sun calendar, Carnival is closely identified with the nation's roots and traditions. From Friday evening through to the following Tuesday, Carnival revelers dance through the streets.

RIO's Carnival Balls
 While Scala is the venue with the most established events  including the most glitzy ball of all is the gay gala ball on Carnaval Tuesday most clubs have Carnaval programs. The costumes are luxury and exotic and the whole affair is televised (so if you're camera shy, wear a mask). at the elegant Teatro Scala, Avenida Afrânio de Melo Franco 296, Leblon (tel 021/239-4448) where guests – straight, gay, transvestite – turn up in some of the most outrageous costumes that you’re likely to see anywhere.

Few would doubt Rio's claim to best celebrating the beauty of a woman's body.  Valéria Valenssa is the most familar. Many would argue that the media characters of Tiazinha (Suzana Alves) Model and Feiticeira (The Witch) Susan Prado have had their day but they don't and likely you don' either. With Luma de Oliveira and Luisa Brunet away from the paradedropping out for Carnaval 2006 Juliana Paes, a TV actress, is the people's choice for muse of Carnival.
 Becoming  the Reina or Madrinha da bateria,  an important role best translated as the cheerleader godmother to the percussion orchestra is the best way to launch your career as a goddess of Carnaval.
Others with the Brazilian sensuality that continues to enchant the entire world include  a long list of renowned models, actresses and entertainers.

Top 12 Special Samba Drum Queens of Rio Carnaval 2011
Great new site in Espanol called Ciudad Marvelosa with best guide to the muses of the Carnaval -in our subsection with other top blogs & machine translation by google
 

www.sambacity.info  The Carnaval Queen contest is held here.
Near the cruise ship terminal with a year-round schedule. Still best to call for best times to see the huge complex in full operation.  by phone: (55 21) 2213-2503 or (55 21) 2213-2546. 

• Carnaval Queens & Muses Featuring youTUBE video
   It is a great dream of carnavals the world over to be known immortally for your beauty. Rio seems to take this dream to heavenly realms

Carmen Miranda 
A superstar in Rio before enthralling America the  Brazilian Bombshell aka "the lady in the tutti-frutti hat" is still the most well known Brazilian figure throughout Americas. She warmed American wartime audiences with an extravagantly seductive native charm. Her outrageous costumes still set the standards for many today. 

Joãosinho Trinta: Carnavalesco
had a brilliant career as carnavalesco (artistic director) beginning with Acadêmicos do Salgueiro where he was champion, as assistant, in 1965, 1969 and 1971 and co-director in 1973 and 1975. Joining GRES Beija-Flor de Nilópolis, he added his characteristic touch of genius with bold and luxurious enredos that had brought the club the coveted championship in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1983 as well as 1986 and 1989. Perhaps his best remembered championship was with Viradouro,  of Niterói, where it he brought home their first championship on their 50th anniversary at the carnival of 1997 with Trevas! Light! The Explosion of the Universe
He also left the Carnaval stage with a bang, provoking controversy with the church's relationship with sex, contraceptives and AIDS.

Samba's roots begin with African immigrants from the Northeastern State of Bahia jamming at  Plaza 11 and writing the first song at the home of The Estacio Neighborhood became the cradle of Samba in the 1930's but it was not till the late fifties that today's samba from the hills of Rio conquered the City by becoming intimately tied to Carnaval.  

One of the first in Samba history is Ernesto Joaquim Maria dos Santos, (1889 to 1974).  Ernesto was known as Donga his “choro” a type of Brazilian Samba is recognized as the first samba carnavalesco, “pelo telefone”. The band Oita Batutas performed the song was a huge hit  during the 1917 Carnaval.
Donga's aunt Ciata, originally from Bahia, practiced Condomble and was a great influence on the Samba music of Donga although others say it was her ability to invoke the orixas or rhythms of the saints that was made her so popular.
Tia (Aunt) Ciata lived near the Praça Onze in Rio de Janeiro, a gathering spot of ex-slaves and immigrants from Bahia and the northeast of Brazil. Here Donga met other earlier music forms of Samba like the samba de roda (ring samba), the jongo, and the afoxé.
Samba de roda was a dance often performed in the slums as a ring of people singing, clapping their hands and playing drums and other light instruments. There might be a competition between two people drawing connections to Capoeira. This ring is where the new samba dance steps were created!

The first group to call itself an Escola de Samba (Samba School) was a group known as Deixa Falar [“Leaves it To speak”], which came from the district of Estacio on the hill above Praca Onze. The date of formation was the 12th of August 1928 and the idea was the leaders wished to be known as teachers or professors.  The founder of Deixa Falar, Ismael Silva, said 'Now we weren't just some bloco, we were a SAMBA SCHOOL!' In the Journal of Brazil in 1931, Deixa Falar was referred to as a 'pretty and disciplined rancho'; in 1932 Deixa Falar was calling itself a 'Rancho-Escola'. They first paraded  in Praça Onze  in the carnivals of 1929. The carnaval grew in 1930 and 1931 which Deixa Falar won in both years.   arrived to participate of the first competition of the Rio Schools of Samba, organized in 1932 by Jornal Mundo Sportivo

The well detailed story of samba culture giving us the collective power of song, dance and divinities to transform and unite a nation we think the birth of bossa nova and Rio beach bikinis at the dawn of the 60's is a story for everyone

The history of Greco-Roman Carnaval which ends with the Council of Nicea creation of Lent which the long story will show was done primarily to give Carnaval its current season away from Christmas and Easter. Begin with the ending carnaval.com/lent the Table of Contents carnaval.com/bacchanalia or our hero carnaval.com/dionysos

galeriadosamba.com.br
Incredibly detailed history that's easy to follow in any language

Here's 70 of impanema.com's "gay carnival" of  76 total "gay" pages
"The first thing to do once you get past the door: buy dozens of tickets for drinks. It makes a wonderful ice-breaker. If you don't make a connection with words, try the bottoms up sign - it is universally understood. "

Tours TOP

TRIPS Brazil Carnaval Tours
More fun and less stress to do Carnaval in Brazil with a group.

Sambodromo
Tickets sell out but there is always some available for the right price. Unless you have seats  in a special section be sure to arrive early to hold a good spot in the mostly general seating arena. The  60,000+ seat Sambódromo was built especially to frame this "world's greatest show" held on the Sunday and Monday night just before Fat Tuesday. Here Rio's  top 14 samba schools will each take 65 to 80 minutes to impress the judges and millions more on TV with their best efforts.
Consider connecting with  the escolas during Carnaval season when they are filled with excitement, activities and hierarchy. 

LIESA (Independent League of Special Samba Schools) Large active site for the producers of Carnaval.

Knowing the Parts of a Samba School Parade
 Get into to art form! Find descriptions of  Commisao de frente,  Baianas, Mestre Sala and Porta Bandeira, Bateria, Pasistas, Enredo, Carnavalesco, Harmonia and Alas. 

Tickets 
Knowing which bank is official vendor can save you a lot over broker prices. Get the latest info from Riotur. Your hotel or a travel agency can usually procure the tickets for your but the mark up is significant like a face value US $80 ticket will become $200. Arrive early for the Special School show on Sunday & Monday or consider getting a roomy inexpensive ring side seat for the less spectacular but still spirited and inspired A & B school parades on Saturday and Tuesday
 

Fantasias or Costumes
You still have the chance to take part in the thick of it. Just get into contact with one of the Samba Schools, pay for a costume and you can be part of the greatest show on earth.

 
Sambódromo Maps 
|| low K & printable

Opened in 1984 and designed by Brazil's famous architect Oscar Niemeyer  the massive structure on each side of  Av. Presidente Vargas-Rua.is a mile-long (1.5km)700 meters long, 19 meters high and has a total floor-area of 85,000 square meters which can hold 60,000 cheering fans of the 4,000 member samba schools. Millions more tune in on TV to catch this feast for the senses.
There are 14 samba schools from the 'special group' to perform. The first night, Sunday , 7 of these schools perform at the Sambodromo - Samba Parade Ground . Each of them has from 70 to 85 minutes to perform, and the parade finishes at the 'Praça da Apoteose' ,the M shaped structure at the end of the avenue.

Awards

AWARDS: & Rankings thru 2004   More on the events page 2006 ||2005 || 2004 ||   2006 ||  Judges scores for 2008

Schedule
For a better more relaxed Sambodromo experience consider the A league parade on Carnaval Saturday where the winner will join the Grupo Especial the following year. The B league on Tuesday offers the best seats in the house for very little and the patience of waiting in line. The top 6 winners of the Special parade do an encore Parade of Champions on the Saturday following Carnaval Saturday.
Next year: You can plan future dates by knowing the special parade happens on Carnival Sunday and Carnival Monday running from 7pm to dawn each evening. The last day of Carnival is always a Tuesday set by Easter and the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. To determine you can check out our chart here at the bottom of this article on Dating Fat Tuesday.

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Order of the Special Samba Schools or Rio de Janeiro for 2011 New for 2009 -mega youtube jukebox players!

Carnaval Sunday, February 22 Start of parades: 9:00 p.m. School 1.Império Serrano > Video 2.Grande Rio > Video 3.Vila Isabel> Video 4.Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel > Video 5.Beija-flor de Nilópolis > Video 6.Unidos da Tijuca > Video Carnaval Monday, February 23 Start of parades: 9:00 p.m. School 1.Porto da Pedra > Video 2.Acadêmicos do Salgueiro > Video 3.Imperatriz Leopoldinense> Video 4.Portela > Video 5.Estação Primeira de Mangueira > Video 6.Viradouro > Video Parade time per school: minimum of 65 and maximum of 80 minutes The video is in special jukebox players by youtube.com and features the enredo or 2009 theme songs as well as "Best of 2008" clips and goes back as far as we could find for a exclusive historical survey.

GRUPO A  & B
Beginning in 2002 only the Champion of Grupo A  exchanged places with the 14th finisher in the special league. Prior it was a 2 school exchange

Moved to our Rio Carnaval Events page under Saturday after Carnaval.

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Gaucho Carnaval Porto Alegre || Corrientes, Argentina Gualeguaychu Argentina Montevideo Uruguay

carnaval.com/argentina/ Foto Server by Carnaval.com : Argentina Global Carnaval Links Carnavals of the Americas

Meanwhile in the north, the only state north of the equator is named after the world's greatest altar, a table top mountain known as Roraima a former mining state, many Indian tribes with just one major city the  capital Boa Vista . At its center  three countries representing the three languages of the hemisphere meet. These are the English of Guyana, the Portuguese of Brazil and the Spanish of  Venezuela.

www.carnaval.com/venezuela discover the capital of Venezuela Carnaval -Carupuno a mecca of beach. rum & chocolate In the Gran Sabana region where diamonds and gold still drive men crazy is a great Caribbean style Carnival in the City of El Callao. It's 1849 Gold Rush to El Dorado has followed a much different path than the one which created San Francisco, California. Venezuela is not for most travelers but the island of Margarita, makes it easy with over 12,000 hotel rooms, relative safety, multi-lingual staff, and regular guided trips to one of the most naturally blessed countries in the world. Margarita Island also loves Carnaval.

Bolivia Bolivia Carnaval
These are 3 of Brazils 5 Mercosur Trade partners. Capital City Montevideo is across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires 
Columbia COLUMBIA Carnaval: Barranquilla & San Andres 
Columbia will be the focus of USA South America policy while it continues to traffic in feeding the fiction that "war on drugs" is all about supply 

Brazil in New York	Brazil in London
or Brazil in San Francisco	Japan Brasil in Japan

SAMBISTA Network

• newiki.org/worldsamba not much added in 2007; connected with Long Beach Carnaval which is carnaval.org.
• http://wikihost.org/wikis/sambistas/wiki/start European focus with many pages in Deutsche-add your info to this wiki system

ArchivesWorld-wide Samba Home Page
Large comprehensive list of samba links.
Cyber Carnaval at darkwing.uOregon.edu
by Sergio. Carnaval photos and links.

Brazilian Music on carnaval.com

BRAZILIAN Music what's new

 History of MPB by Ricardo Cravo Albin"
A pioneer in every sense, including breaking with many of the male chauvinis rules of her time, the conductor Chiquinha Gonzaga was an indispensable individual for MPB: she wrote almost two thousand compositions and amazed the carnival at the turn of the 20th century with her composition Abre alas (The Opener of Wings)."

www.samba-choro.com.br
Deep site with plenty of MP3

Percussion
On the parts of an escola, parade rules, bateria instruments.

SAMBISTA Network 
Percussion Instruments MARKETPLACE 
Pandeiro (4 discussions)
SURDOs: Tuning, Care & Links 
Discography: Classic Recordings & Essential Artists 

Listen in Shockwave or w/ any > 2.0 browser au files of the main instruments like SURDO- [SORE-doe], PANDEIRO- [pahn-DAY-roe],   CUICA-[KWEE-cah],

Phil Little Drum and Percussion Page || Beginners||Exercises||Drum Kit||Percussion||Bateria

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 PHOTO Galleries & Video 
A visual sampling lets clues you in to the other side of the links 

Special Group Rio Carnaval '97
Carnaval.com & Roberto Delpiano presented.

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