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In Brazil, the carnival is officially launched. In Rio de Janeiro, for a week, everything stops and the city lives to the rhythms of samba. A moment of freedom, of excesses, but also of demands in the new political context created by the election of Jair Bolsonaro.
With our correspondent in Rio de Janeiro, Sarah Cozzolino
A parenthesis where everything is allowed. For those who live the carnival of Rio , it is an event that goes well beyond sequins and disguises. Henrique Rodrigues, 20, wears a pink tutu. He is living his 15th carnival. " The party, the joy, the entertainment. For me that's all, and that's happiness, "he says.
For Zina Bloch, it's the first carnival. But this Parisian vacationing for a month in Rio is already playing in a bloco , a band that will parade through the streets. " Under the dodger, for four hours, you walk ... It's hard for the body, but there is so much emotionally that you are full of emotion! "She says enthusiastically.
The opportunity to convey messages
Parades are also an opportunity to convey more political messages. " Outside Crivella, " says Marcelo Crivella , the conservative mayor of Rio de Janeiro, who openly scorns the carnival and who, in two years, has halved samba school subsidies.
Joao Rodrigues is engaged on the left. " Carnival," he explains, " is the time to take a stand. Here we see people with disguises criticizing our president. And I think carnival is the place for that and the time is right. This year, the mythical samba school of the favela of Mangueira will pay homage to Marielle Franco , murdered last year.