Second day of parades in Rio"s Carnival celebrated Blackness; see highlights and photos

The second night of the Special Group of Samba schools at Rio's Carnival gave way to the celebration of Blackness. No less than five Samba schools (Portela, Vila Isabel, Mangueira, Paraíso do Tuiuti and Viradouro) presented plots related to Black people or themes in the early hours of Monday (12) to Tuesday.

Viradouro, which closed the night's parades with a storyline rooted in African history and culture, is one of the main favorites for winning the title of best Samba school of 2024, according to journalist and Carnival parade expert Luiz Gustavo Thomaz.

Portela, which was chosen as the best school by the jury of the traditional Estandarte de Ouro award, offered by the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, also showed its power.

Vila Isabel, which reworked a historical plot about the creation of humanity with references to African religions, was another school that stood out, despite some occasional mistakes.

The 2024 Rio Carnival champion will be known today (14). The counting of scores begins at 4 pm (local time). The six schools that performed on the second night of the parade are competing for the title with those that performed between Sunday night and Monday dawn.

Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel

First group of people parading, Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel / Sad Coxa / Rio Carnaval

Mocidade opened the second night of the Special Group of Samba schools by getting the Sapucaí (the avenue where the parades take place) to sing the most popular samba-enredo (the schools' theme song) of Rio Carnival 2024. The six-time champion wants to win the title again with a storyline about the tropical fruit cashew. Named "Pede Caju Que Dou... Pé de Caju Que Dá!", it excited the public.

The "native delight", as written in the lyrics, was a starting point to talk about Brazil's native peoples, the Tropicalist movement and Brazilianness, highlighting artists such as Brazilian painter Tarsila do Amaral and the Frenchman Jean Baptiste Debret, who showed the fruit on their canvases. On the avenue, the members shared with the public the same joy presented in the samba-enredo.

The school had some problems, and some sectors had to slow down at the end of the parade to avoid exceeding the time limit of one hour and ten minutes, which could compromise part of the evaluation.

Portela

Actress Taís Araújo decided to paradein Rio's Carnival after learning that the book "Um Defeito de Cor" would be the basis for Portela's samba-enredo / Sad Coxa / Rio Carnaval

Portela is the Samba school with the most titles in Rio but was the tenth in Rio's 2023 Carnival. The school went to the avenue to show the strength of Black women in Brazil. The storyline "Um Defeito de Cor" was based on the book of the same name by Ana Maria Gonçalves. It paraded in the Sapucaí a new perspective on history, retracing the imagined life of Luisa Mahin, a woman of African origin who played a fundamental role in bringing together enslaved people in Brazil in the 19th century and the mother of abolitionist Luiz Gama, who was also honored by Portela.

The parade was marked by intense emotion. One of the cars featured 16 mothers who had lost their children to violence. Among them is Marinete Silva, the mother of Marielle Franco, who was murdered in the city of Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Like Mocidade, Portela also had problems that could compromise the judges' scores. The first car had problems entering Sapucaí, in the beginning of the parade, and went down the avenue with broken sculptures. In addition, at least another car had its structure damaged during the presentation. Because of these problems, the school also had difficulties with the beginning of the parade.

Vila Isabel

Vila Isabel is one of the candidates to win the title this year / Alexandre Vidal / Rio Carnaval

Vila Isabel brought to the public a plot first presented in 1993: Gbala: Viagem ao Templo da Criação ("Gbala: Journey to the Temple of Creation," in a rough translation), whose samba-enredo was written by Martinho da Vila.

The plot used references from African religions to talk about the creation of humanity, which was assigned to take care of the planet's creatures but failed in its mission. Children were then summoned to protect the planet with their innocence.

With a parade conceived by carnavalesco ("Carnival designer", in Portuguese) Paulo Barros, a four-time champion of Rio's Special Group and known for his creative solutions and inventions, Vila delighted the public at many moments. However, the school could see its score decrease regarding a couple of dancers known as "mestre-sala" and "porta bandeira", who took to the avenue in costumes with LED lights that did not work properly.

Mangueira

A long-time Mangueira lover, singer Alcione got emotional at Sapucaí / Alexandre Vidal / Rio Carnaval

Mangueira, which won Rio's Carnival 20 times, told the story of the life and work of the distinguished singer Alcione. With the storyline "A Negra Voz do Amanhã" ("The Black Voice of Tomorrow", in English), the traditional green-and-pink Samba school sang about the importance of "Marrom" – Alcione's nickname – for Brazil's women and highlighted aspects of Maranhão's culture, her home state. She took part in the "warm-up" at the start of the parade and was featured on one of the cars.

The parade was marked by the emotion of many of Alcione's friends who took to the Sapucaí to pay tribute to the singer, who is celebrating 50 years of her career. Maria Bethânia was one of Alcione's friends who participated in the parade. Mangueira, which has one of the most passionate fans at Rio's Carnival, crossed the Sapucaí under much applause.

However, the fight for the title may be distant due to some problems the Samba school had during the parade. In one of the cars, a sculpture depicting Alcione broke, and the image's head almost fell off. The school's progress was compromised. There were also problems with dispersal: one person fell from a car but received medical care and is fine.

Paraíso do Tuiuti

Tuiuti presented the life and fight of João Cândido / Sad Coxa / Rio Carnaval

In 2018, Paraíso de Tuiuti was the biggest surprise of the Carnival, finishing in runner-up position with a storyline about the 130th anniversary of the "Lei Áurea", the law that freed Black enslaved people in Brazil. This year, the Samba school decided to talk about the resistance of Black people again. With the storyline "Glory to the Black Admiral!", the school paid homage to João Cândido, who led the so-called "Revolta da Chibata", a mutiny of Black sailors against physical punishment at the beginning of the 20th century. Initially victorious, the riot ended with João Cândido's expulsion from the Navy.

On the avenue, the school recalled various racism cases in Brazil in recent years. In one of the highlights of the parade, João Cândido was represented by Max Ângelo dos Santos, a delivery man who was beaten with a whip by a woman in Rio de Janeiro in April 2023.

Although it wasn't brilliant, the Samba school – which is considered a "small" one – won't probably have problems in the fight against relegation, according to Luiz Gustavo Thomaz. The expert pointed out minor problems at the end of the parade but highlighted the drums as one of the best performing at Sapucaí in 2024.

Viradouro

Viradouro closed the night's parades celebrating the strength of Black women / Alexandre Vidal / Rio Carnaval

Viradouro closed the Rio Special Group parades in 2024 with yet another celebration of the strength of Black women. The plot "Arroboboi, Dangbé" was about the cult of the serpent vodun in the region currently known as Benin, and featured an "army" of women. "The loyalty of sisters of color lives in me," sang the school.

Viradouro closed the festivities in Sapucaí as the day dawned on Tuesday in an almost flawless parade and is at the front of the race for the title.

"Viradouro won't be the champion unless a surprise happens. Imperatriz and Grande Rio are dreaming of the title, but they have to dream a lot because Viradouro was irreproachable," said Luiz Gustavo Thomaz.