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Rio's Carnival hits high gear at samba showdown
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-23 22:32
Hundreds of informal, around-the-clock street parties, celebrations that many describe as the soul of Brazil's Carnival, hummed along outside the stadium Sunday, with the largest gathering attracting more than a half-million people. Samba schools also staged early parades Sunday in Sao Paulo, a business-oriented city that some Brazilians say is too straight-laced to throw a proper party. But Swiss tourist Christoph Fischer, 42, seemed to appreciate the milder version of events, noting that in contrast to the anything-goes chaos of Rio's pre-Lent bash, "Carnival in Sao Paulo is very organized." Fernando Angelo Reis, 35, a nurse from Sao Paulo, acknowledged that the city's celebrations lacked the exuberance of those in Rio, or even those in the cities of Salvador and Recife. But "even though Carnival might be a little better in Rio, I wouldn't trade it for Carnival in Sao Paulo because of security issues," Reis said. In Rio last week, armed men with guns and grenades invaded youth hostels, tying up scores of foreign tourists and robbing them. Police have since reinforced patrols in tourist areas. |
