Rio's Carnival celebration is back, but parties will be smaller

Carnival King Momo, Wilson Dias da Costa Neto, accepts the key to the city as Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, right, applauds during a ... CarnivalKingMomo,WilsonDiasdaCostaNeto,acceptsthekeytothecityasRiodeJaneiroMayorEduardoPaes,right,applaudsduringaceremonymarkingtheofficialstartofCarnivalinRiodeJaneiro,Brazil[BrunaPrado/APPhoto]PublishedOn20Apr202220Apr2022facebooktwitterwhatsappAftertwoyearsofCOVID-19cancellations,RiodeJaneiro’smayorhasofficiallyopenedtheworld’smostfamouscarnivalcelebration,handingakeytothecityto“KingMomo”,thesymbolicrulerofthefestivities. “IproudlyannouncethegreatestshowonEarthisback–Longlive,carnival,”MayorEduardoPaestoldacheeringcrowdatcityhallonWednesday,handingagiantgoldenkeyovertothejovial“monarch”asconfettiraineddownonthem. TraditionhasitKingMomo,chosenbyajurywithinputfromapopularvote,rulesRioforCarnival,presidingovertheglittering,sequin-studdedspectacleofthecity’sall-nightsambaschoolparades. Thisyear’skingis35-year-oldWilsonDiasdaCostaNeto,chosenbasedonhis“liveliness,sociability,waywithwords,niceness,happiness,carnivalspiritandsambaskills”,cityhallsaid. CarnivalKingMomo,WilsonDiasdaCostaNeto,smilesduringtheceremony[BrunaPrado/APPhoto] Deckedoutinashinybluetuxedoandjewelledcrown,Netoacceptedthekeywithahugesmile. ItwasawelcomechangeoftonefromlastyearwhenPaessymbolicallyhandedthekeytoapairofhealthworkersinwhitelabcoatsandsurgicalmasksafterannouncingcarnivalhadtobecancelledbecauseofthepandemic. COVID-19hasclaimedmorethan660,000livesinBrazil,secondonlytotheUnitedStatesinabsolutenumbers. Butwithmorethan75percentoftheSouthAmericancountry’s213millionpeoplenowfullyvaccinated,theaverageweeklydeathtollhasplungedfrommorethan3,000ayearagotoapproximately100now. LastcelebratedinFebruary2020,Carnivalagainlookeduncertainthisyearwhenfearsofanewwaveledcityauthoritiestopostponeitfromtheusualdates,justbeforetheCatholicseasonofLent. Revellersdanceinthe‘CordãodoBoitata’paradeduringthetraditionalBlackculturecarnivalevent‘FeiradasYabas’inthesuburbsofRiodeJaneiro,Brazil[File:BrunaPrado/APPhoto] Twomonthslater,theshowissettogoon.ThesambaschoolparadeswillopenonWednesday,withthehighlycompetitivetop-flightleaguescheduledforFridayandSaturdaynights. Cityofficialshavenotauthorisedthehugecarnivalstreetpartiesknownas“blocos”,butseveralsmalleronesarestillexpectedtobeheld. Someorganiserssaidtheywouldturnout,anyway—partparty,partprotest—andMayorPaes,aconfessedCarnivalenthusiast,hassaidhewillrefrainfromdeployingtheMunicipalGuard. “CityHallwon’timpedepeoplefrombeinginpublicspaces,fromcelebrating,butit’simpossiblethatithappenatsuch[large]size,”themayorsaidinresponsetoareporter’squestionaftergivingKingMomothecity’skey. RiodeJaneiro’sMayorEduardoPaeshandsoverthecity’sceremonialkey[PilarOlivares/Reuters] Rio’sbigger“blocos”,whichtypicallydrawtensandhundredsofthousandsofrevellers,havefallenintoline.Theyusesoundtrucksandrelyonthecityfortrafficdetours,rubbishclean-upandmoretolimitdisruption. RitaFernandes,wholeadstheSebastianaassociationofblocos,saidtheyareholdingfirefor2023. “Wedon’twanttocomeoutatanycost,oursponsorcancelled,wewerediscouragedbyOmicron.Intheend,everythingwasdemobilised,”Fernandessaid.“Wedon’tthinkthecitywillsupportoverfourdaysthevolumeofblocosthatthereare.Wedon’twanttocreatechaosinthecity.” Othersareunconvinced,likeTomasRamos,asaxophonistandmemberofagroupthatorganisedaprotestindowntownRioonApril13. HeshoutedtomusiciansandspectatorsgatheredatthestepsofRio’smunicipaltheatre,rallyingthemforfull-boreCarnivalfestivities. Amaskedrevellerdancesinthe‘CordãodoBoitata’paradeinthesuburbsofRio[BrunaPrado/APPhoto] “Downwiththeturnstilesthattransformthecityintobigbusiness,whereprofitprevailsoverlife,wheremoneyisfreerthanpeople,”hesaid. Normally,Carnivalmovessome$800mforRio’seconomyandcreatesatleast45,000jobs,accordingtoofficialfigures. Source:NewsAgencies