Travel Conqueror

Party In Rio de Janeriro

Get into the Festive Mood in Rio de Janeiro Now!

In most parts of the world when we say Carnival or Carnaval one thinks of rides, games and elephant ears. A carnival is like having a circus come to your town. Parents bring their children to enjoy the Carousel, Ferris Wheel and Bumper Cars and play games of skill and chance to win stuffed toys and other prizes.

The definition of Carnival or ‘Carnaval’ in Brazil is way different to what we are used to. Their Carnaval does not consist of rides and games but instead it’s made up of several parades that are done 40 days before Easter. Their Carnaval is very festive as it is a combination of lots of sounds, music, and dancing. Every street in Rio de Janeiro is full of people watching the Carnaval. It started as a masked ball in the 1840s and later on morphed into a parade that included floats and costumed revelers.

The Carnaval is usually a four day event that starts on a Saturday and ends on a Fat Tuesday or what they call ‘Mardi-Gras.’ Fat Tuesday is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday - the beginning of
Lent. There are different types of parades held at different locations - each parade has their own name depending on where they are held.

Some of the more famous parades are Cordão do Bola Pret, the most traditional. This parade draws as many as 200,000 people in the center of the city where it’s held. There is also Suvaco do Cristo, translated as ‘Christ’s armpit.’ This parade has many bands that celebrate in the Botanic Garden, directly below the Redeemer statue’s arm thus the name.

The Carmelitas parade consists of people who chose nuns as their theme and parades through the hills of Santa Teresa. People also look forward to Simpatia é Quase Amor. This is translated as ‘Friendliness is almost love’. It’s one of the most popular parades in Ipanema. Banda de Ipanemais is another traditional parade it draws many visitors including revelers, families and even drag queens.

The most famous and important of all Carnaval parades is the Sambodrome Parade held in Rio de Janeiro. This parade showcases the different talents and culture of Brazilians in more than 100 countries all over the world. This Carnival tops the others because it is not your usual Carnaval. This is because along side with the Sambodrome Parade is a street Carnaval wherein can watch other people dance and celebrate in the streets.

So there you go, a list of possible Carnavals that you can go to and participate in when you are in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.