Carnival - There are "gringos" in the samba!

            Carnival is a very popular celebration in Brazil. Indeed, Carnival, is the most famous holiday in our country and it has become an event of huge proportions. As people use to say, it celebrated from Oiapoque to Chuí (our two most extreme cities). Maybe a great contribution for that is the fact that the country stops completely (even the banks) for at least 4 days (from Friday to Tuesday) and celebrations and parties are really intense, going on day and night, night and day. Carnival should finish on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday because this Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent (= the traditional forty-day period before Easter. As Brazil is a big country, the way people celebrate Carnival varies from region to region. Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and other cities organize parades made up by the samba schools. People get together, compose the main samba-song, (the one that everybody from the school will be singing during the parade), create the costumes, make the choreography and rehearse months before the oficial presentation.

This year, the samba school called Rosas de Ouro, composed a samba song to honor the celebrations around the world...and guess what? Ireland is Ireland is represented by the celebration of St. Patrick's day. The song says:

"By land, sea and sky

Come to travel in this magic

I want to celebrate traditions

(I want) Get lost in the realms of revelry!"

People sang it during the school presentation and the avenue was coloured with green shamrocks and leprechauns. So, as I've written before here in our blog, St. Patrick's Day has become increasingly popular, even here, in Brazil.  So popular that this year is being celebrated in our Carnival...now the "gringos" (foreign people) are officially in the samba!

Post Question: Do you like Carnival? Do you have a favorite samba school? What do you usually do during this four-day holiday? 

Have you ever participated in a Carnival parade? Would you like to participate? What costume did you (or would you) like to wear? 

Tip: Carnival has become a very typical Brazilian party, so sometimes it's difficult to explain it to someone who is out of the context. But how would a "gringo" explain our Carnival? Watch this video (Just click here) made by Discovery channel for a special series "Atlas" and find it out!