CARNIVAL!!

I did everything you should do when you go to Rio de Janeiro. I visited Jesus on the hill, I took the cable car up the Sugarloaf mountain, I walked along the Copacabana beach, I ate masses of delicious meat at Churrascarias and drank Brahma beer late into the night at outdoor bars. But there was one reason I desperately wanted to be in Rio last week specifically: Carnival.

And thanks to my Dad and his friend Anthony, there I was, in a box in the newly renovated Sambodromo on Sunday night. Seven different Samba schools competed that night, each with over three thousand dancers and at least six huge floats. Just a single samba school would take over an hour to complete their parade. It was the most flamboyant, most elaborate, most intoxicating thing I've ever seen.

Here's eight hours of those performances, condensed into less than four minutes.


Carnival in Rio from Tina Cone on Vimeo.

We arrived at the Sambodromo at 9pm. I had my final beer of the night watching the sunrise over Rio on Monday morning. It was a truly unforgettable experience.

ps. Incredibly, none of the samba schools that I saw on Sunday ended up taking home the championship this year. The winner paraded on Monday night.