Everyone knows
Rio de Janeiro's carnival is supposed to be the greatest
party on earth, but to many, the hordes of sweaty, scantily
clad bodies on display can be as intimidating as they
are inviting.
The city's
reputation for violence and the difficulties that arise from
not speaking Portuguese make it even more important that
tourists get some guidance about how to jump in.
The locals have
barely recovered from their New Year's hangovers and are
already preparing for the five-day-long, no-holds-barred
pre-Lenten bash that sweeps over this seaside city
like a tidal wave.
Foreigners in the
know are flocking to the hillside shantytowns, where
the city's top carnival groups hold weekly rehearsals to
polish this year's theme songs, and to the Sambadrome
stadium, where free technical rehearsals offer a taste
of the Samba parade with none of the glitter or glitz.
For the carnival
itself, which takes place during the first five days of
February this year, there are basically three ways to
celebrate: Party in the street, watch the Samba parade
from the stands, or -- for the truly fleet-footed and
daring -- dance in the parade itself.
Most of the
larger samba groups allow tourists to join their contingents
as long as they wear the costumes, known as ''fantasias.''
The groups sell them to revelers over the Internet and
at the city's larger hotels, delivering them to the
customer's doorstep.
The elaborate
costumes, which can cost anywhere from
$300-$1,400, provide revelers with a very
different perspective.
The upside of
parading is the thrill of singing and dancing under the
stadium's bright lights before a huge crowd. The downside:
Once the parade is over, revelers are left standing
outside the stadium in a brilliant, slightly
silly-looking getup, with few options aside from
returning to the hotel to watch the rest of the parade on
TV.
''In my opinion
it's one of the most fantastic celebrations on earth. If
you've seen anything about it on television or in print,
it's all that but 20 times better,'' said Arthur
Martinez, a retired U.S. Postal Service executive from
Indio, Calif. ''It takes about seven minutes to get
into the mood. The samba is just so infectious.''
''You don't have to learn to samba, but it's a
good idea if you do,'' explains Martinez, who got his
first taste of Rio's carnival back in 1978.
Brazilians like
foreigners to at least try to dance. Of course, they
laugh at all the misguided footwork, but they'd rather
see foreigners loosen up than be wallflowers.
A capacity crowd
of 88,500 watches from the stands of the Sambadrome
stadium, where top-tier samba groups present their elaborate
parades, the centerpiece of Brazil's annual carnival
celebrations.
But most of the
dancing goes on down below, on the stadium's nearly
half-mile-long runway, where the city's top 12 samba groups
each mount 80-minute-long spectacles,
collectively featuring hundreds of drummers,
thousands of dancers, and about a dozen over-the-top parade
floats.
For tourists, the
biggest problem with trying to watch the celebration is
that the Sambadrome is in a tough part of town, and parade
tickets usually sell out months in advance. There are
plenty of tickets available through travel agencies
and scalpers, but at a hefty premium.
Coimbra Sirica, a
public relations executive from Northport, N.Y., chose
to go through a travel agent, who provided transportation to
and from the stadium, because she wanted her young
children to experience Rio's carnival without worrying
about security.
''The most
exciting thing was to watch my children start the evening
with their bodies slightly stiff and by the end of the
evening they were dancing wildly, unreservedly,'' she
explained. ''I love the country, I love the music, but
I have some concerns about safety.''
Sirica and her
family, who visited last year, also followed local advice
to leave valuables behind and bring only a bit of pocket
money to the parade.
An easier and
cheaper way to celebrate is to take part in Rio's street
carnival.
No tickets or
costumes are required to fall in behind one of the many
bandas and blocos that ply the city's streets
during carnival time.
Bandas play hits
of carnivals past, while blocos write a new song for
each carnival, which they repeat endlessly.
The Banda Ipanema
-- one of the most famous carnival bands and a favorite
of the city's gay community -- parades along Ipanema beach
on carnival Saturday and Tuesday, which this year fall
on February 2 and 5.
Fans of the
Carmelitas bloco like to dress as nuns -- though habits are
not required. The group parades on Friday night, attracting
a good-sized crowd to the hilltop Santa Teresa
neighborhood.
And the Cordao de
Bola Preta, one of the city's most traditional carnival
bands, packs the city's center on Saturday morning, making
it a favorite for families with young children.
Some of the
bigger blocos have become victims of their own success in
recent years, attracting crowds so large that even the
musicians have trouble breaking through the gridlock.
If all that
sounds like too much trouble, there is always the path of
least resistance: Stay on the beach and wait for the party
to come to you. (AP)