Topless women riding pink dolphins, towering animatronic tigers, crocodiles breathing fire, hundreds of feathered and sequined dancers dressed as cannabis plants and sunflowers performing the samba through a stadium…This is the carnival parade in Brazil – WOW!
I attended Sao Paulo’s Samba School parade this year during Carnival and it was absolutely incredible! My words and pictures do not do it justice. However, there is a lot that I wish I’d known ahead of time, so I decided to share my experience and offer a few insights into what the carnival parade is really like. And if you are wondering whether the parade is worth it, it is!
What is Carnival in Brazil?
Carnival is the massive, multi-day celebration which starts the Friday before Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent. It began as a religious event created by Portuguese settlers and became entwined with Afro-Brazilian culture. From there, it evolved into the world’s largest party. Carnival is celebrated across Brazil with music, glitter, costumes and thousands of street parties (blocos). However, Rio Di Janeiro and Sao Paulo also play host to huge parades…
What is the Carnival Parade?
You’ve probably seen pictures and clips online, but did you know these parades are actually a huge competition between samba schools? This competition has been going since the 1930s. The parades are ticketed events in purpose-built stadiums called Sambadromes They take place over Carnival weekend, with a Champions’ Parade the following weekend.
A couple of explanations:
Samba:
Afro-Brazilian music and dance style.
Samba school:
Not actually a school but a dancing, marching, drumming club thought to be named for their original practice grounds in a schoolyard. The schools were traditionally associated with poorer neighbourhoods like Rio’s favelas (self-built, low income settlements) and have a strong sense of history and community. Some are now also linked to football teams. Some schools are over a hundred years old and may consist of up to 3000 performers. Interestingly, most of these performers pay for their own costumes and to take part in the parade.
Some of the schools are very famous with a long history and have a huge cult following. People wear their t-shirts and bring massive banners to hang from the stands. Also, each school procession usually has a theme, story or political message permeating through their parade. Themes we saw included Amsterdam, the life of famous Brazilian actress Lea Garcia, the rainforest and struggles of the indigenous people.
Each school gets an hour to parade through the Sambadrome with thousands of costumed dancers, several massive floats, catchy songs on repeat, while the crowd watches, cheers, sings, dances, drinks, etc. The atmosphere is magic! Judges along the course, however, are actually allocating points to the schools. There are 9 categories, including drumming, song, movement, theme, floats and costumes.
The competition takes place over several nights and each night has different schools in different groups or series, such as Gold Series or Special Group. Gold is like second division – they compete to join Special Group the next year. We went to see the Special Group. The Winners’ Parade takes place the following weekend.
What time does the Carnival Parade take place?
Sunset to sunrise. Seriously.
The doors open at 7pm with the first parade starting after 10pm. We arrived at 9pm. Each school parades for an hour with about 20 minutes in between. There are usually about 7 schools parading each evening, meaning it goes until sunrise! We met some guys in our accommodation who left after the first parade thinking it was the end. Mistake! You can, of course, leave at any point and many supporters of a specific school leave after their school has performed. However, it would be a mistake to leave after only one school, as they just get bigger and better.
What is the Sambadrome?
The Sambadrome is not like a football stadium, but a purpose-built parade ground. It is narrower and longer than a stadium, with huge floodlights and speakers, VIP boxes and seating along both sides. Outside of these are food and drinks stalls, and toilets. At each end of the parade route (and nearby fields) are massive areas for the schools to store and prepare all their floats and costumes.
Rio and Sao Paulo Sambadromes are the largest and most famous, but several other cities have dedicated spaces. Salvador, however, is famous for their parade taking place in the streets.
Worth noting is that the streets surrounding the Sambadrome are sealed off during the parade. We Ubered as close as we could then walked the rest; we did the same in reverse when we left.
Stands or Camarote?
You don’t pay for specific seats in the Sambadrome, but for which area you want. Obviously, the best areas, closer to the mid parade route, are more expensive. If you want a camarote (VIP box) this is more expensive still, but it comes with some perks!
The stands
The stands are concrete bleachers or plastic seating, but you are allowed to bring your own cushions, banners, and even some of your own food and drinks. People often arrive upon the doors opening at 7pm to save the best seats well ahead of the parade actually starting. The stands are often open air so keep an eye on the weather and be prepared in case of rain. The atmosphere in the stands is electric, full of cheering and singing, and people are often up from their seats dancing. The cheapest seats in the stands when I looked at the Sao Paulo Sambadrome were about £20.
Camarotes
These are basically VIP boxes in different areas to the stands, usually with the best views and some package of free drinks. Some give you a free t-shirt and even include transport to and from the venue. We decided to treat ourselves to the cheapest camarote – incredible views right on the parade floor, free beer and soft drinks from a dedicated bar. There was not a lot of seating but plenty of space to move around. This cost £75.
Where to get tickets
Be warned: the best seats and most popular nights do sell out well in advance!
We met some backpackers who bought tickets on the night from hawkers outside the Sambadrome. Not my best recommendation.
You can buy tickets at dedicated box offices at the stadium or in town.
And of course you can buy online: https://www.clubedoingresso.com/
Top tip: if you’re a foreigner trying to buy anything online in Brazil, you’ll often hit a hurdle when asked for a Brazilian tax number. Some sites will let you put your passport number instead. In this case, we had to contact the help desk explaining (through Google Translate) exactly which tickets we wanted. They were thankfully very responsive and sent an alternative payment link for us to use – but this has a time limit on it so beware if buying from another time zone!
We then received tickets by email. These had details about which gate and section to enter the Sambadrome – all very clearly marked with plenty of people working. They scanned our QR codes at the gate and gave us a wristband and a leaflet with details about which schools were parading that evening.
What to wear for the Carnival Parade
For blocos (street parties), there are no rules.
For the Sambadrome, it’s a little more ‘subdued’… There is still plenty of glitter as you can see from below, but people tend to be more covered. Many people wear shirts supporting their favourite school.
Mostly, you want to be comfortable as it’s a long night from doors opening at 7pm and finishing after sunrise! If you’re in a fancy camarote or VIP space, you might want to dress up more. If you’re in the open-air stands, think about bringing a rain jacket.
So, what is it like at the parades?
I have never seen anything like it! The sheer size of the floats stretching meters and meters above with animatronic creatures waving paws and breathing fire, not to mention the amazingly costumed people up there. I wondered how they got all the way up there and got my answer as we were leaving. We saw a crane lifting people off! There were topless women riding pink dolphins, costumes with feathers stretching several feet, hordes of dancers dressed as cannabis plants, giant statues of indigenous people weeping gold as they held up a deforestation machine, thousands of choreographed performers in the most incredible costumes… pictures do not do it justice.
Interesting facts about the Carnival Parade in Brazil
- In the days before the parades, you can observe rehearsals for free!
- Most of the performers pay for their costumes and to take part. This contributes a lot to the local economy by employing a huge number of local seamstresses
- Each samba school parade has their song on repeat – and is usually the result of a massive song writing competition. The parade handout contains the words to each song so you can sing along!
- All ages take part, both in watching and performing. You will see children, elderly folk and everything in between.
- You can bring your own cushion, food and drinks into the stands.
- The lowest scoring school in Rio’s parade this year has been relegated for their theme depicting current president Lula’s life. This theme was seen as divisive and potentially helping him campaign for the next election.
- The winner of Sao Paulo’s parade was a thematic depiction of the life and struggles of Afro-Brazilian actress Lea Garcia and featured a giant golden statue representing her Yoruba heritage with 10,000 litres of water flowing from it! We were lucky enough to see this school for ourselves on the night. It was my favourite!
Finally…
The Carnival Parade in Brazil is amazing! If you have the opportunity to visit, grasp it! It is definitely worth it.
Other posts on AbFabTravels to check out:
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I have always made a point of never accepting guest posts on AbFabTravels, but I have just made an exception! My daughter Beth is currently on a sabbatical and travelling the world. She has agreed to contribute a few articles, giving a young person’s perspective and insights into a different way of travelling. She is a fantastic writer so please check out her posts.
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