Carnival, in October?!

Earlier this month, the Casa crew visited our favorite Samba school, Salgueiro, to participate in the festivities as they narrowed in on choosing their enredo- theme song- for Carnival 2011. Saturday night’s semi-finals featured four songs.

The night kicked off with revisiting the choices from the past couple of years, to everyone’s excitement and booty shaking delight. President Regina Celi Fernandes Duran gave a short speech before hitting the dance floor to commence the celebration.

Then in came the flag bearers, Mestre-Sala and Porta Bandeira, performing a beautiful ceremonious dance full of spins and flourish. A parade of Salgueiristas dressed in the school colors of red and white made their way singing and swinging through the crowd. With the opening ceremony complete, attention turned to the main stage.

Out bounced samba dancers, in full carnival costume: sparkling little bits, high high heels, and massive feathery crowns. Jiggling their curves in that uniquely Brazilian manner, these ladies moved the audience towards full throttle excitement.

The heart of the action rotated from stage to main floor and soon the first two songs had passed and we were all in need of a bathroom and some fresh air. Upon returning to the hub, our crew encountered a group of future carnival stars getting an early start (on a late night) practicing their Samba skills. These girls had the proper moves, the costumes, and the attitude…and all between the ages of five and eleven. We were mesmerized, and also bewildered as to when they study-and sleep!

On the following Monday, Salgueiro held the finals between the last two songs in the competition. A few dedicated fans from the Casa returned to the Quadra- Salgueiro’s event hall- and were treated to a night of Samba-entertainment. The night followed Salgueiro’s theme for the coming carnival: Rio in Cinema. Featured acts included ladies in itty bitty bikinis showing themselves off in the way they do on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, a tribute to Carmen Miranda, a scene in which the Rainha da Bateria (queen of the drums), Viviane Araújo, was abducted by King Kong, and a somewhat disturbing excerpt from the recent cinematic hit Tropa da Elite 2. (Check our youtube page, www.youtube.com/casa579, for upcoming postings of video clips!)

Salgueiro’s enredo for 2011 has since been announced: “Salgueiro Apresenta: o Rio no Cinema,” written by Dudu Botelho, Miudinho, Anderson Benson and Luiz Pião. To listen to the song and learn the lyrics, visit Rio’s main Samba website: www.sambariocarnaval.com and scroll down to the link for Salgueiro para 2011, and continue to Salgueiro Samba campeão. Interested in experiencing all the fun of Samba rehearsals yourself? They run through February at all of Rio’s fabulous Samba schools, and it is best to arrive around midnight. Check the Samba website (above) or Salgueiro’s site www.salgueiro.com.br, for more details!