Mangueira samba school parades in the Sambadrome in the 1998 Carnival in Rio. The Sambadrome ( Sambódromo in Portuguese, full name Sambódromo da Marquês de Sapucaí) is a purpose-built parade area in downtown Rio de Janeiro

A Samba school parades in the Sambadrome in the 2004 Carnival. The Sambadrome ( Sambódromo in Portuguese, full name Sambódromo da Marquês de Sapucaí) is a purpose-built parade area in downtown Rio de Janeiro

The Samba schools (Escolas de samba in Portuguese) are samba clubs organised in the early half of the 20th century in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Samba ( is one of the most popular forms of music in Brazil. It is widely viewed as Brazil's national musical style The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Rio de Janeiro ("River of January" ˈhiw dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu in Brazilian Portuguese, /ˈriːoʊ di ʒəˈnɛroʊ/ in English is the second largest city of Brazil |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld They are neighbourhood associations that today put on spectacular Carnival parades. Carnival is a festival season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February and March

The most spectacular parade takes place in the Rio de Janeiro Sambadrome, with other major parades taking place in São Paulo and others cities of the southern and southeastern Brazil. The Sambadrome ( Sambódromo in Portuguese, full name Sambódromo da Marquês de Sapucaí) is a purpose-built parade area in downtown Rio de Janeiro São Paulo ( is the largest city in Brazil, with its metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world These parades are sumptuous and attract tourists from all over the world.

History

Samba schools, which started off first in Rio de Janeiro in 1928, have evolved around the centerpiece event of the Rio Carnaval. Rio de Janeiro ("River of January" ˈhiw dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu in Brazilian Portuguese, /ˈriːoʊ di ʒəˈnɛroʊ/ in English is the second largest city of Brazil Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Brazilian Carnival, or Carnaval (Carnaval is an annual festival in Brazil held 4 days before Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning The schools parade down a lane lined with grandstands, thousands of members per school dressed in coordinated costumes, dancing a rehearsed samba routine to original music. Each school's presentation has a central theme, such as a historical event, a famous person or a native Brazilian legend. The samba song must be developed around the theme, and the parade organised by each school must detail the theme through costumes, paintings or papier-mache sculpture.

Each samba school rehearses all year round for this event and all its members take part in the rehearsals, whether experts or not. It is a place where people who always wanted to write a song, play a percussion instrument or choreograph a dance will have their opportunity. Unlike the Rose Parade, which has largely been taken over by high-budget professionals, the samba parade is the work of neighbourhood communities working together. The Tournament of Roses Parade was established and first held on January 1 1890 in Pasadena California, eight miles (13 km northeast of Downtown Los Angeles Much more than musical groups, they are in fact, neighborhood associations that cater for a variety of community needs (such as educational and health care resources) in a country with grinding poverty and poor social safety net.

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 people playing in rows. Instruments include a variety of drums, tambourines, and rattles.
• The opulent floats.

Worldwide influence

In smaller form, the samba parade has made its way around the world, with a yearly parades in Japan, Denmark, London (Notting Hill Carnival), Finland, and the United States (Mardi Gras). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which takes place on the streets of Notting Hill, London, UK each August over two days (Sunday Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the " Mardi Gras " ( French for Fat Tuesday) is the day before Ash Wednesday. These are much less elaborate affairs than in Rio, but they represent the same sense of fun and community spirit.

Major samba schools in Rio de Janeiro

See also

• Bateria

External links

• Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools League (Portuguese)
• São Paulo Samba Schools League (Portuguese)
• Samba Groups outside Brazil
• Wikihost.org Sambistas