A Day Inside Brazil's Wild Carnival Parties

Brazil's Carnival revelry is ramping up, from the raucous street parties to the glitzy parades. Carnival kicked off Friday afternoon, and today marks the first full day of the pre-Lenten festivities.

'It Is a Mission'

A roar of joy rose from a sea of sweaty, scantily-dressed revelers as one of Rio de Janeiro's most traditional street parties, know as Heaven on Earth, kicked off just before 7.30 a.m. local time in the bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa.

This year, the group made up of percussionists, wind instruments and stilt performers was paying homage to Rita Lee, a much loved Brazilian singer and songwriter who died in 2023. A puppet of Rita Lee had a red guitar with a sticker which said "without amnesty", a reference to the charges Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro is facing over allegation of plotting a coup d'état.

"Our repertoire is greatly made of traditional old Carnival songs," said Pericles Monteiro, the founder of Heaven on Earth. "We also pay tributes to Brazilian music artists, every year there's a different one. It is a mission. We want to bring some of the paradise to our Earth. We need it badly to get some peace, respect."

Friends of the Jaguar

One of Saturday's popular early-morning street parties is Friends of the Jaguar, on a beach looking across the water at Rio de Janeiro's Sugarloaf Mountain. Thousands of revelers are here, all decked out in leopard- and jaguar-print clothing.

Marina Caetano, 39, has only missed Friends of the Jaguar once in the past 11 years, because she was hospitalized – and still she dreamed of checking herself out.

"It's marvelous. The best street party. The energy, the people, the music," Caetano said. "I have love for this party."

The party features a band of saxophones, trombones and drums trailed by a truckload of speakers to spread their sound far and wide. And the choreographed dancers, "the jaguarettes," crawl about and paw playfully like large felines, with elaborate make-up to match.

"It's a space that allows us to express a lot of artistry," said dancer Dandara Abreu, 36. "It allows our freedom of expression."

Sao Paulo Parades

Sao Paulo's samba school parades started Friday evening, bringing thousands to the city's Sambadrome.

The city's top schools celebrated Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous traditions and honored some of the country's most beloved musicians, including Cazuza, Toquinho and poet Vinícius de Moraes.

Samba school Academicos do Tatuape presented its parade about social injustice and the fight for equal rights, inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. The group's theme for the year is a famous quote from the civil rights leader: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Parades of Sao Paulo's premier parade league finish tonight, and Rio de Janeiro's top samba schools will start Sunday evening.

– Gabriela Sá Pessoa

Partying Nuns

Also on Friday afternoon, one of Rio's most traditional street parties, Carmelitas, took hold on the bohemian hilltop neighborhood of Santa Teresa.

The area is home to the Carmelites Convent, which explains the party's customary garb: Many of its revelers came dressed as nuns and priests.

Some in the party paid tribute to Pope Francis, who remains hospitalized in Rome with double pneumonia.

The Key to Carnival

Rio de Janeiro's mayor handed over the key to the city to its Carnival monarch on Friday, opening King Momo's symbolic five-day reign over the festivities.

"Don't call me. Call King Momo until Ash Wednesday comes," Mayor Eduardo Paes, wearing shorts and a Panama hat, told Carnival revelers as drummers and veteran members of local samba schools celebrated and sang traditional songs. "You should come for this guy. He's going to be in charge of the whole thing."

Momo's tenure is symbolic of society being turned upside down during Carnival. His role is inspired by Greek mythology. Momus is the personification of satire, mockery and irreverence.