The first night of Sao Paulo’s samba school parades pays tribute to the city, heroes and legends of Africa.

At the official opening of the city’s Carnival 2024 parades, São Paulo’s samba schools paraded, paying tribute to the city itself and, as always, evoking the heroes and legends of the African culture that is so present in Brazil’s origins. On this first day of parades, which began on Friday evening and did not end until Saturday morning when the sun was already high, seven samba schools paraded, with the remaining seven from a special group performing early in the morning from Saturday to Sunday.

The last parade was the Escola de Samba Rosas de Ouro, one of the most traditional carnivals in São Paulo, but which in 2023 has almost dropped to the secondary division, was one of the highlights of the evening, or rather the morning, since the Sun was already very hot. when the group took to the samba podium. Rosas de Ouro designed in Anhembi Zambodromo, in the north of the city, a samba story about one of the main postcards of the capital São Paulo, the Ibirapuera Park in the south, which turns 70 in August and is a meeting place. the wealthy residents of São Paulo who live in the elegant condominiums around it, but also other less privileged people who use various modes of transport to get from the outskirts to their holiday destination for a weekend with friends or family.

Strengthening his connection with the city, Rosas de Ouro also paid tribute to singer Rita Lee, who died last May and was buried in Ibirapuera Park, where she loved to go. The school bet on telling the story of the city and the singer with connections to São Paulo, since of the seven titles she had already won as Carnival champion, four were related to stories about the city.

Another samba school that deviated from the traditional evocation of Brazil’s African roots was Mancha Verde, associated with the Palmeiras football club coached by Portuguese Abel Ferreira, and brought to Anyembi a story about agriculture, an area in which Brazil excels. in the world. Eternal muse Vivian Araujo once again paraded in front of the rhythm players dressed as a viola singer from the Brazilian countryside.

Escola de Samba Camisa Verde e Branco, the first to be paraded in the Sambadrome on a very hot and muggy night, which, however, helped the groups to carry out the parades without the problems caused by wind or rain that usually plague the city at this time. This year he paid homage to African kings and emperors through a spell reminiscent of Oshossie, one of Candomblé’s deities and the school’s patron, fulfilling a promise he made last year if he succeeded in moving to a special group, which he did. In the latest car, the Green and White Shirts paid tribute to a later and more earthly emperor, the former footballer Adriano, whose skill, demonstrated over the years on the fields of Brazil and Europe, earned him the nickname Adriano the Imperator.

Académicos do Tatuapé, another samba school that has risen to prominence in recent years, also spoke about Brazil’s African origins, but, in addition to religion, also turned to gastronomy and culture to honor and celebrate the beauty of the city of São João da Mata. , in Bahia, a tourist city also known for the paradise of its beaches.

Two other samba schools that addressed African themes were Dragões da Real, which also paid tribute to African kings and queens, and Indepentente Tricolor, which paid tribute to women, remembering the legendary African warriors of Dahomey who shaped what was the only universal samba school women’s army on the planet, while Escola de Samba Barroca Zona Sul developed a plot based on its own history and with a well-deserved tribute to the memory of its deceased founders and directors. On the second and final night of the parades in São Paulo, from Saturday evening to Sunday morning, the schools of Vai Vai, Gavioes da Fiel, Academicos do Tucuruvi, defending champion Tom Mayor, Mocidade Alegre, Agia de Ouro and Imperia will perform at the Sambadrome Anembi yes Casa Verde.