Rio de Janeiro’s 2020 Carnival celebration was filled with spectacular costumes, dances, and political satire

• Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival celebrations began last week before the beginning of Lent with tens of thousands of spectators gathering at the Sambadrome to experience exquisite costumes, intricate dances, and samba music.
• Samba, an Afro-Brazilian genre of music and dance, has become an integral part of Carnival, and the best samba schools in Rio de Janeiro have competed in the city since 1933.
• The samba schools often perform on social and political themes. This year, one of the floats took a jab at Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil.
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Last week, festivities began in Rio de Janeiro for Carnival, a large celebration involving music, dancing, parades, and parties before the Catholic observance of Lent.

Source: Britannica, Insider, The Independent

Thirteen of the city’s best samba schools took to the Sambadrome to perform their routines for tens of thousands of spectators.

Source: France 24

The samba groups integrate elaborate costume, choreography, and music to create a performance based on a theme.

Source: Britannica

Some of the topics this year had political undertones.

Source: France 24

One of the floats featured the actor Marcelo Adnet mocking Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil, by doing push-ups and firing imaginary finger guns, actions that Jair has done in public.

Source: France 24

The conservative president has made remarks about indigenous groups, women, black people, and the gay community that has invited controversy in the past.

Source: The Guardian, France 24

Though Carnival is a celebration, many view the samba schools' performances as a reflection of what Brazilian society is experiencing.

Source: The Guardian

The celebration of Carnival began in Italy centuries ago but has been adopted by cultures across the world.

Source: Britannica

Brazilian Carnival celebrations are closely tied with the music and dance genre of samba.

Source: Britannica

Samba is rooted in Afro-Brazilian tradition and has become an important part of Brazilian cultural heritage.

Source: Britannica

Rio Carnival samba originated in the towns around Rio de Janeiro, where sugarcane workers had migrated after slavery was abolished in 1888.

Source: Britannica

Rio Carnival hosts a competition between Brazil's best samba schools.

Source: Britannica

Samba schools serve as community centers and are made up of thousands of dancers and musicians from various neighborhoods.

Source: Britannica

Since 1984, the main event of Rio Carnival has been held in the Sambadrome, a stadium built to accommodate the samba school competition.

Source: Britannica, Sambadrome

The Sambadrome can host over 85,000 visitors.

Source: Britannica

In 2004, Rio de Janeiro was awarded the Guinness World Record for "largest carnival" with over 400,000 foreign visitors.

Source: Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records reports that Rio Carnival generated $165 million in four days in 1998.

Source: Guinness World Records

Rio de Janeiro's Carnival celebration has become iconic with over 2 million people reportedly attending each day in 2019.

Source: Britannica