Every year, the city of Rio de Janeiro transforms into a living, breathing celebration of drums, rhythm, color and culture during Carnival, the largest carnival in the world. With roots in Portuguese colonial festivities and deep influences from Afro-Brazilian heritage, samba and community traditions, Carnaval has grown into a spectacular showcase of storytelling through music and movement. At the iconic Sambadrome, each samba school spends an entire year preparing for its moment on the “avenue.” Each school parades with roughly 3,000 to 4,000 performers, including dancers, musicians, flag bearers and elaborate float teams a literal army of passion and precision moving to the thunder of the drums. The stadium itself holds around 80,000 spectators all united in one electrifying celebration that lasts until dawn. Most, if not all, arrive having memorized that year’s samba-enredo, proudly singing along during each school’s 80-minute performance from the first beat to the final note.
A highlight of each carnaval is the sheer, shocking scale and detailed artistry of the floats. Towering several stories high and stretching the length of many city buses, the floats are moving works of art. Built over months of design and construction, they feature intricate carvings, mechanical elements, dramatic lighting and layers of hand-crafted detail. Performers dance atop these massive structures as they glide down the avenue, transforming the Sambadrome into a stage of history and imagination.
NEY MATOGROSSO performs as Imperatriz Leopoldinense parades during Carnival, presenting the theme “Camaleônico” (Chameleonic), a tribute to the singer and performer—one of Brazil’s most influential and boundary-breaking artists. Drawing on his chameleonic career, the enredo celebrates artistic freedom, transformation, and cultural expression through elaborate allegories and striking costumes.
This year’s opening schools: Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Estação Primeira de Mangueira, Unidos do Viradouro and Portela set the tone with unforgettable energy, creativity and heart. I was blessed to experience it all alongside my wife, my brother, and my sister-in-law again this year. We arrived at 9:30 at night and didn’t stop celebrating until the sun came up the next morning, completely immersed in the rhythm, the joy and the magic of it all. Experiencing Carnaval for the second year in a row only deepened my appreciation. Rio Carnival defies description. As many seasoned Cariocas say, ‘you can’t explain Carnaval, you have to experience it.’
