Traveller Dominique takes us to the Sambadrome as she joins a samba parade in Rio.
It was a beautiful night in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian humidity was barely noticeable, even under all the weight of my costume. The conditions were perfect for Carnival parades. As I moved deeper into the Sambadrome, the rhythm of the samba drums became clearer. The lyrics that accompanied the drums also became more recognisable.
The first set of stands came into view and for a moment I felt like I was about to get swept up in the wave of festivalgoers. I had been anticipating this moment and now that it was here, it all felt so unreal. How did I, an IT analyst from Toronto, end up in the middle of the Sambadrome dressed as a cashew fisherman?
From the pandemic to the biggest party on Earth
After the pandemic, I vowed to travel deeper… and better. I wanted to immerse myself in my travel destinations and gain a better understanding of iconic traditions around the world. I had originally planned another trip with a travel buddy who unfortunately had to cancel last minute. I was disappointed but I wasn’t going to let this stop me from experiencing the cultural immersion that I craved, even if I had to do it alone. My disappointment had me looking for the biggest party on Earth and Carnival in Rio de Janeiro seemed to be exactly that.
This is how I found Intrepid’s Rio Carnival Experience. I was looking for small group tours specifically for Carnival in Rio. As a solo female traveller who was planning to visit Brazil during its wildest time of the year, this trip was my ideal travel style because I’d get:
- Access to a local guide who can provide tips and cultural context.
- Help with logistics since I don’t speak Portuguese.
- The option to explore with like-minded travellers and but also have the flexibility to explore on my own.
Most importantly for me, Intrepid offers an optional activity that gives travellers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join one of Rio’s top samba schools for their Sambadrome parade presentation, which Rio’s Carnival is world famous for.
Heading to samba school
To participate in the parade, Intrepid needed at least two months’ notice to order my costume and have it made on time. A couple days before the start of the trip, I received instructional videos from Mariana, one of the local guides who would be accompanying me to the Sambadrome. The videos emphasised how important it was to honour the legacy of the samba school who would graciously allow me to join their presentation during Carnival.
Samba schools are unique to Brazil. They are not technically ‘schools’ that offer formal instruction on samba. They are community organisations that cover a variety of neighbourhood interests besides samba and Carnival, which include things like education and medical care. The Sambadrome Carnival parades are competitions between the top samba schools in the city that take place every year just before Ash Wednesday. Each samba school puts on a spectacle that lasts for over an hour and spans the length of the Sambadrome.
The samba schools spend the entire year curating a theme, producing a song, designing a float and costumes, choreographing a dance and rehearsing for the main event in the Sambadrome. All this provides employment for thousands of people within these communities. Each presentation is evaluated by a panel of judges under a very rigorous scoring system. At stake are sponsorships and funding.
Allowing tourists to participate isn’t just about bringing people together to celebrate, though that’s part of it. Each samba school brings hundreds if not thousands of people to the parade, so non-locals help fill out a performance, and the money generated through costume rentals is an important piece of fundraising for the schools.
While Carnival is famously hedonistic, respecting and honouring my samba school was also very important. I was expecting to be taught a samba routine. This was not the case. Instead, the instructional videos tasked me with memorising the five-minute Portuguese song my school had chosen for their presentation. If I couldn’t memorise the song, I had to pretend like I knew the song anyway as this is one of the scoring criteria. I had a week until the parade.
A couple days later, I met my Intrepid group and our trip leader, Vicente. I felt an immediate kinship with this group. Besides the Carnival festivities included within our itinerary, Vicente accompanied our group to Rio’s iconic landmarks such as Christ the Redeemer, Corcovado Mountain and Sugarloaf Mountain.
No one else in my group was doing the optional activity of participating in the Sambadrome parade. So, no one else had to memorise a five-minute Portuguese song. In between our moderately packed Carnival itinerary and group bonding, I was listening to Pede Caju Que Dou… Pé de Caju Que Dá aka ‘Ask for cashews and I’ll give them to you… Cashew trees give them to you’ on repeat.
Cashews are an important nut in Brazil (even if they weren’t named after the country). Brazil is one of the world’s largest cashew producers and they feature in many Brazilian dishes and drinks. The nut actually comes from the cashew apple, an orangey-red fruit that grows like an apple on a tree. Cashew fishermen are responsible for gathering the cashew apples, and in Brazilian folklore, the cashew tree is seen as a symbol of resilience.
As excited as I was for the parade, I was also anxious. When I originally signed up for the parade, I didn’t know that funding for the samba school was at stake and how rigorous judging would be. I didn’t want to let my samba school and their community down.
Into the streets
Through the trip, my group was initiated into our first bloco. Blocos are themed street parties. They are free to attend. The Rio Carnival celebrations started off as street parties in the late 18th century. In the 1930s, samba schools started to organise parades and blocos during Carnival to legitimise samba music and avert police oppression. It was during this time that Carnival became the most popular festival in Brazil, thus creating the association between samba and Carnival.
Eventually, the Carnival samba school parades became so massive that the 90,000-seat Sambadrome was built specifically to host the annual parade. The Sambadrome celebrations became so commercialised, however, that many locals were priced out of Carnival celebrations. In response, blocos re-emerged. You could argue that they’re the most authentic celebration of Brazilian Carnival.
Hundreds of blocos take place in Rio during Carnival and are highly popular with the locals. Anyone can participate. Music and dancing are the common elements but blocos typically have a dress-up theme. I found that you can fit in at any bloco if you show up in any costume. The vibe is very similar to Halloween (if Halloween was celebrated for weeks and no one slept).
Welcome to the Sambadrome
The competitions between the top samba schools in Rio are split over two nights. These are the most popular (and expensive) ticketed events in the Sambadrome during Carnival. I was able to enjoy the parades from the stands on the first night. The vibe from the crowd matches that of any other professional sports event.
The locals showed passion for their samba school. Everyone in the Sambadrome seemed to know every song used for each presentation. Those who didn’t know the words could follow along in programs with the lyrics and an explanation of each school’s chosen theme. Each presentation consisted of thousands of performers along with elaborate floats and a light show courtesy of the wristbands provided upon entry. It truly was ‘the biggest stage in the world.’
I finally got to meet Mariana there, and she was shocked to see me still at the Sambadrome at 2 am. She got me on the next shuttle back to the hotel and reminded me to load up on carbs and drink plenty of water ahead of my big show the following night. She said that with the weight of the costume in the Brazilian heat, I shouldn’t underestimate the importance of resting up and being prepared.
The next afternoon, Mariana and the other guides who were accompanying me to the Sambadrome arrived with the costumes. They were so intricate that the guides had to dress me and other Intrepid travellers from other groups who were also participating in the parade. My ocean-blue costume was adorned with frills and cashew fruits and my headpiece piled high with more cashew fruits, seashells and sea stars.
We were put in a private shuttle to the Sambadrome. While it is possible to contact organisers directly to join the parade, I love that Intrepid had someone pick up and deliver my costume to me and deal with the logistics of navigating the Carnival traffic around the Sambadrome. The guides also directed me to the correct meeting point for not only my samba school, but my exact section in the procession.
It’s showtime
When I finally walked in and the first set of bleachers came into view, I was intimidated. But then I heard the crowds singing the song that I had been rehearsing all week and it brought me into the moment. In the weeks leading up to my Carnival experience, I learned that many Brazilians spend all year saving up and looking forward to this season. And there I was on the biggest stage in the world dressed as a cashew fisherman from Brazilian folklore.
I’m definitely not someone who would normally perform in public like this. I was so out of my element. I looked up at everyone in the towering stands in this enormous, thumping stadium, and they were a lot more animated than me. I was the one who came all this way from Toronto and volunteered for this experience, and yet I was feeling too shy to really occupy space in the Sambadrome.
Still, as massive as the Sambadrome is, I was able to pick out friendly faces in the crowd who smiled back while singing the same words I was singing. They reminded me to stop overthinking and overanalysing to the point that I forget to enjoy moments for what they are. When you learn to let go and be more present, you usually find kindred spirits. As I sang from the top of my lungs and danced along in the Sambadrome, I fully understood the Brazilians’ pride and passion for this festival.
Join in the festivities on Intrepid’s Rio Carnival Experience. Travellers have the option of adding on the optional samba parade experience for an additional fee.
