MARCH 03: Rio de Janeiro – A Night at the Sambadome

Okay, the two previous March 03 entries have been leading up to the centerpiece experience during our time in Rio – going to the Sambadome to see the samba school parades.  The “schools” are really neighborhoods, each contributing several thousand participants to their parade. 

There is a specific window of time (approximately 70-80 minutes) each samba school has to parade from one end of the Sambadrome to the other.  We are talking about moving thousands of dancers, a drum section, and a number of really big floats. The floats in these parades are completely different from those we saw earlier that were part of the street parade.

Each school has its own unique qualities according to its own traditions. Each parade has a theme and is composed of a variety of elements that collectively tell a story.  Schools are graded by a jury, with tremendous prestige bestowed on the winning school. 

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SAMBADROME TOUR

Description

Brazil’s legendary Carnaval is a true once-in a-lifetime experience. At the foundation of this national tribute, paid annually, to hedonism and excess is the Samba—a brilliant dance of riotous color, sensuality and splendor. The music and dance you will hear and see is uniquely Brazilian—an art form originally invented by poor Afro-Brazilians and more recently catapulted onto the world stage. Samba represents Brazilian culture today, but has its roots in the traditions of both Greek and Roman celebrations.

Travel from the port of Rio to the great Marques de Sapucaí Avenue for a night to remember—watching what is perhaps the greatest show of Samba on the planet. Every year, at Carnaval, the twelve best samba schools from all over Brazil choose their own theme and prepare a one hour show in which they play, sing, act and dance a samba tune composed for the occasion. The event is held in Rio’s famous Sambodromo, designed by Oscar Neimeyer and built in 1984. This massive stadium-like structure is located along both sides of the Avenue, creating a street-side runway for the Samba parade, ending at Apotheosis Square. Here, the magnificent magic of Carnaval is unleashed and awestruck onlookers can scarcely deem any show on earth worthy of comparison. This is a display to wake the senses—you will find it compelling, mesmerizing and utterly fascinating. At the end of the parade, return to the ship by coach.

Seating for Holland America guests will be in Section 9. Price of the ticket includes transfer, set seating, guide and security guard.
 

[source:  MAASDAM cruise website]

Our Experience

We got off to a bit of a shaky start.  The departure time was advanced from 7:00 PM to 6:00 PM, but we sat around first on the ship and then on the bus until after 7:00.  This was followed by a nearly two hour bus ride to the Sambadone.  We nevertheless made it in time to see the first school’s parade begin shortly after 9:00 PM. 

Any concern we had about whether we could stay awake and enjoy an event that late at night evaporated soon after the first parade started.  What a show! 

The following are several of the 472 pictures I took during the parades.

We stayed through the first three parades.  About 1:30 we returned to the bus having seen only three of the six parades scheduled for the night.  Getting back to the ship was a 15 minute ride.  The 85 minute difference between the trip over and back was Carnaval parties being held throughout the city.  On the way over these were in full force with corresponding road closures and traffic jams. By the time we came back, many of the parties had concluded.  The difference also reflected everyone trying to get to the Sambadome at the same time versus a staggered departure leaving it.

We were so wired from the stimulation of noise, sights and lights that it actually took a while for sleepiness to set in.  The lights in our stateroom went out about 3:15 AM.

We learned the next day that none of the three amazing processions we saw won.  It is hard to imagine what it must have taken to be better.