Brazilian Carnival season is opened

The Brazilian Carnival season opened Sunday, February 6. The annual festival is scheduled to continue until Tuesday, February 15 (longer in some regions).

The samba schools parade in Rio de Janeiro is scheduled for the first day. The parade occurs at the Sambódromo plaza, a place which was constructed specially for the event. Thousands of onlookers and participants are expected for the televised event, starting at 9:00 p.m. local time and continuing without interruption until Monday morning around 6:00 a.m. The parade will then restart Monday night at 9:00 p.m.

The samba schools which are scheduled to be in Sambódromo plaza Sunday, February 6 are: Mocidade, Império Serrano, Salgueiro, Mangueira, Unidos da Tijuca, Tradição and Vila Isabel. Monday, February 7, the following schools are scheduled: Porto da Pedra, Caprichosos, Viradouro, Portela, Imperatriz, Grande Rio and Beija-Flor.

Although the samba schools' parade in Rio de Janeiro is a great event of the Brazilian carnival, the Brazilian people also celebrate carnival in another ways: going out to the streets, going to saloons, participating in blocos and bandas and following the Trio Elétrico.