012 Rio Carnival Just Begun
02-20-2012, 12:44 AM
Luvanka, thanks for posting the link to the live feed. I'm a huge Carnaval junkie as I've been following it for the past 7 years without fail, watching all the Rio school parades, even staying till 7am. Attending the Rio Carnaval in 2009 was one of my dreams realized and it was one of the most memorable trips of my life so far. My next step is to actually parade with one of the top schools in the next 1-2 years.
Not sure what makes you feel that Sao Clemente are favorites to win the Rio parade. They are a fun school to watch, usually have catchy samba erendo and are one of the teams with the lowest budget. The title is going to be among the big teams like the usual suspects: Tijuca, Vila Isabel, Mangueira, Beija Flor, Grande Rio and this year Portela. Portela, being the team with the most win in the Rio Carnaval with 21 titles but have not won a title since 1983, but this year, they are back. I'm just watching their parade right now and it's a stunning one. Their samba enredo is considered by the experts as the best one and is very catchy. Check it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vis7RxBbR8U
Another school with a stunning samba enredo this year is Vila Isabel. They have a tradition of being not only one of top Rio schools but also one with the best sambas enredo as they have the great Martinho da Vila composing very beautiful sambas for the school in blue and white.
I'm very anxiously waiting to see the Tijuca parade this year as they have been absolutely head and shoulders from the rest of the competition the past 2 years. Last year, the fact that they didn't win it was one of the biggest scandals ever in the Rio Carnaval. Beija Flor won it and a lot of people and experts are saying they won due the mighty Globo's intervention and people have been referring to Beija Flor as Beija Globo. They are a fabulous school but these past 2-3 years, they were not the best as they were clearly beaten in 2009 by Salgueiro, in 2010 and 2011, they were schooled by Tijuca, but somehow, the judges voted for BF.
Mangueira is also coming back strongly and I"m anxious to wait to see their parade this year. They also have tremendous sambas enredo each year. Last year's was the kind that gives you the goosebump as per the beauty of the lyrics.
All in all, this year, i'ts going to be between Tijuca, Beija Flor, Vila Isabel, Mangueira, Grande Rio and Portela. Watch out also for Imperatriz as they are always a strong contender. Regarding Sao Clemente, their objective this year will be to remain in the Grupo Especial as their samba enredo is among the weakest and their budget is among the lowest so we'll see if they can remain in the Grupo Especial or get dropped to the Grupo de Accesso.
Just finished watching the Portela parade and it was a spectacular one. Fabulous samba enredo, very catchy, beautiful costumes, perfect harmony between the samba and the floats. All in all, they've been the best so far tonight. I'm very happy to see the Great Portela back, if not as a champion, at least as a strong contender.
Not sure what makes you feel that Sao Clemente are favorites to win the Rio parade. They are a fun school to watch, usually have catchy samba erendo and are one of the teams with the lowest budget. The title is going to be among the big teams like the usual suspects: Tijuca, Vila Isabel, Mangueira, Beija Flor, Grande Rio and this year Portela. Portela, being the team with the most win in the Rio Carnaval with 21 titles but have not won a title since 1983, but this year, they are back. I'm just watching their parade right now and it's a stunning one. Their samba enredo is considered by the experts as the best one and is very catchy. Check it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vis7RxBbR8U
Another school with a stunning samba enredo this year is Vila Isabel. They have a tradition of being not only one of top Rio schools but also one with the best sambas enredo as they have the great Martinho da Vila composing very beautiful sambas for the school in blue and white.
I'm very anxiously waiting to see the Tijuca parade this year as they have been absolutely head and shoulders from the rest of the competition the past 2 years. Last year, the fact that they didn't win it was one of the biggest scandals ever in the Rio Carnaval. Beija Flor won it and a lot of people and experts are saying they won due the mighty Globo's intervention and people have been referring to Beija Flor as Beija Globo. They are a fabulous school but these past 2-3 years, they were not the best as they were clearly beaten in 2009 by Salgueiro, in 2010 and 2011, they were schooled by Tijuca, but somehow, the judges voted for BF.
Mangueira is also coming back strongly and I"m anxious to wait to see their parade this year. They also have tremendous sambas enredo each year. Last year's was the kind that gives you the goosebump as per the beauty of the lyrics.
All in all, this year, i'ts going to be between Tijuca, Beija Flor, Vila Isabel, Mangueira, Grande Rio and Portela. Watch out also for Imperatriz as they are always a strong contender. Regarding Sao Clemente, their objective this year will be to remain in the Grupo Especial as their samba enredo is among the weakest and their budget is among the lowest so we'll see if they can remain in the Grupo Especial or get dropped to the Grupo de Accesso.
Just finished watching the Portela parade and it was a spectacular one. Fabulous samba enredo, very catchy, beautiful costumes, perfect harmony between the samba and the floats. All in all, they've been the best so far tonight. I'm very happy to see the Great Portela back, if not as a champion, at least as a strong contender.