Rio Carnival

Rio Carnival
Rio Carnival
	A float at Rio Carnival, 2014
Type	cultural, religious
Significance	Celebration prior to fasting season of Lent.
Celebrations	Parades, parties, open-air performances
Begins	Friday before Ash Wednesday (51 days to Easter)
Ends	Ash Wednesday noon (46 days before Easter)
2023 date	Afternoon, April 20 - midday, April 29
2024 date	Afternoon, February 9 –; midday, February 14
2025 date	Afternoon, February 28 –; midday, March 5
2026 date	Afternoon, February 13 –; midday, February 18
Frequency	annual
Related to	Carnival, Brazilian Carnival, Ash Wednesday, Lent

The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro (Portuguese: Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro) is a festival held every year before Lent; it is considered the biggest carnival in the world, with two million people per day on the streets. The first Carnival festival in Rio occurred in 1723.^[1]^[2]

The typical Rio carnival parade is filled with revelers, floats, and adornments from numerous samba schools which are located in Rio (more than 200 approximately, divided into five leagues/divisions). A samba school is composed of a collaboration of local neighbours that want to attend the carnival together, with some kind of regional, geographical and common background.

There is a special order that every school has to follow with their parade entries. Each school begins with the "comissão de frente" (meaning "Front Commission"), that is the group of people from the school that appear first. Made of ten to fifteen people, the comissão de frente introduces the school and sets the mood and style of their presentation. These people have choreographed dances in elaborate costumes that usually tell a short story. Following the "comissão de frente" is the first float of the samba school, called "abre-alas" ("Opening Wing"). These are followed by the Mestre-sala and Porta-Bandeira ("Master of Ceremonies and Flag Bearer"), with one to four pairs, one active and three reserve, to lead the dancers, which include the old guard veterans and the "ala das baianas", with the drum line battery at the rear and sometimes a brass section and guitars. This brass section was included in the early 20th century as part of a more diverse musical ensemble which began to be offered at this time.^[3]

^ Hughes, Amani (February 22, 2019). "Rio Carnival 2019: How to attend Rio Carnival – do you need tickets?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
^ Duhig, H. (2018). Cultural Contributions from Latin America: Tortillas, Color TV, and More. Great Cultures, Great Ideas. Rosen Publishing Group. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-5383-3829-2. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
^ Snyder, Andrew (June 2020). "Politicizing Carnival Brass Bands in Olympic Rio de Janeiro: Instrumental Protest and Musical Repertoires of Contention". Latin American Music Review. 41 (1): 27–58. doi:10.7560/lamr41102. ISSN 0163-0350. S2CID 219462775.

[:0-1] Hughes, Amani (February 22, 2019). "Rio Carnival 2019: How to attend Rio Carnival – do you need tickets?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved February 28, 2019.

[:1-2] Duhig, H. (2018). Cultural Contributions from Latin America: Tortillas, Color TV, and More. Great Cultures, Great Ideas. Rosen Publishing Group. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-5383-3829-2. Retrieved February 28, 2019.

[3] Snyder, Andrew (June 2020). "Politicizing Carnival Brass Bands in Olympic Rio de Janeiro: Instrumental Protest and Musical Repertoires of Contention". Latin American Music Review. 41 (1): 27–58. doi:10.7560/lamr41102. ISSN 0163-0350. S2CID 219462775.

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