Samba school

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Mangueira samba school parades in the Sambadrome in the 1998 Carnival in Rio.

A Samba school parades in the Sambadrome in the 2004 Carnival.

The Samba schools (Escolas de samba in Portuguese) are samba clubs that started in the early half of the 20th century in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They are community organizations that today put on spectacular Carnival parades. The modern and most spectacular parade takes place in the Rio de Janeiro Sambadrome, with other major parades taking place in Rio and São Paulo. Their parades are sumptuous and attract tourists from all over the world.

1 History
2 Parade components
3 Worldwide influence
4 The main Samba schools in Rio de Janeiro
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

Samba schools, which began in Rio de Janeiro in 1928, have evolved into the centerpiece event of the Rio Carnaval. The schools parade down a street lined with grandstands, thousands of members per school dressed in coordinated costumes, dancing a rehearsed samba routine to original music. Each school's presentation must have a central theme, such as a historical event, famous figure or a Brazilian Indian legend. The samba song must recount the theme and the huge floats that accompany each school must detail the theme through costumes, paintings or papier-mache sculpture.

Each Samba school rehearses all year long for this event and members, whether expert or not, all participate. It is a place where people who always wanted to write a song or play a percussion instrument or choreograph a routine have their opportunity; unlike the Rose Parade, which has largely been taken over by high-budget professionals, the samba parade is the work of communities working together.

[edit] Parade components

First is the front line (the comissão de frente), which consists of around ten people who have to introduce the samba school's theme. Other than that, there is no rule concerning the order of the different elements of a samba school. Its main components are:

The master of ceremonies and flag bearer: a couple, sometimes dressed in royal eighteenth or nineteenth-century attire, who dance in a graceful, composed manner. The flag bearer displays the flag of the samba school. The rich costumes that the couple wear are a mark of the intense dialogues between cultures provided by the Carnival in Rio.
The Baianas (ala de baianas), which may include over one hundred older Afro-Brazilian women stereotypically dressed to represent the women from Bahia who sold goods in the streets of Rio during the 19th century.
The drum section (bateria) which consists of a few hundred men playing in rows. Instruments include a variety of drums, tambourines, and rattles.
The opulent floats.

[edit] Worldwide influence

In smaller form, the samba parade has made its way around the world, with a yearly parades in Japan, Denmark, London, Finland, and the United States. These are much less elaborate affairs than in Rio, but they represent the same sense of fun and community spirit.