And suddenly, a roar. Deep, raucous, jubilant. Projected at the top of their lungs by a crowd in raptures, it rose and flew off into Rio de Janeiro's dark sky. It was a little after 10 p.m. on Friday, April 22, when the Imperatriz-Leopoldinense school of samba set off down the Sambadrome track, thereby kicking off the Carnival parades. And from the very first volleys of the "bateria" drums, the "Marvelous City" did not hold back in roaring its delight, in an exalted, almost triumphal clamor, which sounded like a return to life for a city and a country hit hard by two years of pandemic.
"Ready your heart!!!" the master of ceremonies screeched into the microphone. Instantly, a shiver ran through the "arquibancadas," the long concrete bleachers designed by (Brazilian architect) Oscar Niemeyer. On the faces of the thousands of spectators present, there was joy and there were even tears. For the Cariocas, there was no need to hide their emotions behind an anti-Covid mask: they have not been mandatory for weeks.
Infection rates are at an all-time low. After a canceled 2021 edition, and a 2022 edition that was long in doubt and then postponed until April, the city was ready for its big celebration. It looked like a drunken boat, ready to capsize with happiness.
"It's wonderful, wonderful! So beautiful! So emotional! Everything is different but nothing has changed!" said Artur Franco, performer of the first "enredo," the song that gives the school parades their beat. Alongside this man with the powerful voice, dressed in immaculate costumes, the entire army of Brazilian happiness was standing at attention: queens, muses and princesses with feathers and beaded panties, Roman legionnaires armed with inflatable toucans, Marie-Antoinettes with purple wigs, dancing sunflowers, ballerinas, magicians, pharaohs... All dancing by 20-meter high floats, a marvel of painted fabrics and polystyrene, a baroque blend of ingenuity and resourcefulness.
Pride restored
For two nights of parades, on Friday and Saturday, just like in its greatest days, avalanches of feathers and glitter have returned on the 700-meter stretch of the Sambadrome. "Esplendor! Lindissimo! Gigantaaaaaaço!" ["Splendor! Gorgeous! Gigantiiiic!"] the stands shouted, celebrating the return of happy times and restored pride.
Several of the twelve schools competing in the Special Group (the most prestigious) chose to use their own history as a theme for the parade. This was the case for Vila Isabela, which paid tribute to the Carioca samba artist Martinho da Vila, and likewise for the popular Mangueira, in pink and green, which celebrated the memory of its "Gods" and founding fathers, Cartola, Jamelão and Mestre Delegado.
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