Without parades in the sambodrome and with samba groups only in closed places, Rio de Janeiro is experiencing a completely different carnival than before the Corona pandemic. But in addition to the limited officially permitted program, there are always spontaneous get-togethers.
A “Bate-bola” group performs in a suburb despite the postponement of Rio de Janeiro’s usual Carnival celebrations to April.
(dpa)
After the complete failure last year, the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro is celebrating an unusual carnival these days. The city administration had canceled the street carnival again because of the corona pandemic and postponed the famous parades in the Sambodrome to April. But the association of samba schools in Rio de Janeiro (Liesa) still invited to the (unofficial) opening of the carnival with mini parades of the twelve best samba schools in the “Cidade do Samba” on Saturday evening (local time).
Events in closed rooms are allowed by the city administration with the argument that admission controls and checks of vaccination certificates are easier there than on the street. In Brazil, more than 70 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and proof of vaccination is almost always required in many places when visiting public institutions.
“Last year there wasn’t even a vaccine, it was crying. Now I’ve been vaccinated three times and I can have a little fun,” said carnival fan José Flávio Pereira Guerra Júnior.
On the carnival days in Rio, for example, there are various festivals on the program where the samba schools invite or so-called blocos – samba groups that otherwise roam the streets or make music in squares – perform in hotels, clubs and other places. However, the city did not approve a meeting of numerous blocos in a well-known cultural center on Saturday at short notice.
Despite the regulations, some samba groups roamed the streets. The scheduled performances for an entrance fee contradict the spirit of the spontaneous festival that was the street carnival in Rio before the pandemic. For example, photos of a bloco on Flamengo beach could be seen on social networks in the early hours of the morning. The blocos also feature a creative way of responding to current events. A bloco, whose name alludes to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was stopped in the port area of Rio last weekend.
Some residents of Rio arranged to meet up for such events via social networks and Whatsapp groups in order to make them as secret and short-term as possible, like a flash mob. Others went disguised or at least in glitter in search of the carnival atmosphere – if only to meet up in bars.
“I don’t know what to expect from this carnival,” said Ana Luiza Gardeazabal. «Everything is half approved, half forbidden. I feel like reviving what we missed last year.” Others traveled, for example to the small coastal town of Paraty, or were not even in the mood to celebrate because of the recent landslide tragedy in Petrópolis and the Ukraine war, which also dominated the media and discussions in Brazil.