Performers from the Sao Clemente samba school parade during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro. Thinking of the $400 we paid for each costume, we are definitely not risking this one. And should any participant be drunk beyond self-control, that will be grounds for ejection too. Among them, strict guidelines as to how we must dress (no accessories, no cameras, phones, bags), how we must behave (judges will be looking for singing, dancing and cohesion) and how we must respect the hierarchy of the school during the parade. Our instructions – only in Portuguese – came with the outfits. We find ourselves – your correspondent, her husband, younger son and best friend – supporting the Uniao da Ilha do Governador – the team native to Governor’s Island in Rio, a 36-square-kilometre home to 500,000 people in Guanabara Bay, just west of Mount Sugar Loaf.
Samba schools are traditional member associations of larger clubs in Rio, and their followers as serious and devoted to their flags as footy tragics are to their team colours in Australia. Performers from Academicos do Grande Rio samba school during Carnival celebrations. We will be out in the Tropical section, in front of the fourth float, along with 100 other cupcakes, among 3500 people.Īll the colour of Rio. The outfit is hot and complex, and far from the skimpy feathers we see adorning celebrities atop floats on TV. But we opted for what turns out is stylised cupcakes, smarties and melted chocolate head and shoulder dress over a stylish chef’s outfit complete with apron and shoes. There were representations of pumpkins and limes too to match the theme of our school parade this year “Flavours of Brazil”.
Our dress represents cocoa depicted in the theme song of the same name. I chose them for their look and perceived lightness given we had no previous allegiance to any particular samba school and did not wish to cart around several kilos of polyester.
We bought them online, through seasoned carnival operator. I’m unsure whether to hope for rain (it could keep us cool), or for dry (my wish is for our costumes to stay as pristine as when they came out of their bags this morning).
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