Samba schools in Sao Paulo bring culture, the Amazon, luxury and technology to the catwalk.

On the second and final night of this year’s São Paulo Carnival, seven samba schools, which performed from Saturday evening until Sunday morning, went to the Anembi Sambadrome, in the northern zone of the capital São Paulo, where a lot of culture, music and the Amazon could be seen. all, of course, with a lot of color, with a lot of luxury and high technology, among the bodies of shiny and, in some cases, half-naked men and women. The opening of the envelopes containing the judges’ scores from the 14 samba schools over the two days will take place late next Tuesday evening when the 2024 champion will be announced.

Champion of 2023, the samba school Mocidade Alegre again became one of the highlights of this year, developing in Passarela do Samba the story of the great journey undertaken by the writer Mario de Andrade throughout much of Brazil, and bringing to the alleys images of the culture of each region, traditions and Music: Rhythmicists mix traditional samba with regional rhythms such as frevo and maracatu, traditional in the northeast. Particular attention was paid to Ala das Bayanas, whose rich costumes resembled soapstone sculptures, as an emotional tribute to the great master of this art, Aleijadinho.

Tom Major’s Samba School went even further back in time and brought to the avenue a lavish production of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, but with a local Brazilian perspective, and since it was a free version and it was Carnival, a time of joy, the tragic ending of the legend gave way to a happy ending. What was impressive, besides the richness of the costumes, especially in the Front Committee, which alternated between night and day, were the giant robotic images of alligators, snakes and an even larger scorpion, which moved frighteningly thanks to technology.

Wai-Wai, the school with the most titles in the Sao Paulo Carnival, but which last year was in the second division of the parades, returned to the elite, paying tribute to the hip-hop culture that has such power and so many followers in the capital São Paulo, especially in the outskirts, and brought to Passarela do Samba a real living legend of alternative music of São Paulo, the lead singer of the group Racionais MCs Mano Brown. Another school that used music to try to become champion was Império da Casa Verde, which paid tribute to the life and career of Faf de Belen, who lifted the crowd in the stands when he appeared on the last tee with long gray hair and an indigenous look. painted his head, face, and to tell the story of the famous artist, of course, the group brought beautiful images of the Amazon to the avenue.

One of the most famous samba schools, Gaviões da Fiel, part of the Corinthians football club, develops the plot of this year, reminiscent of another, the plot of 1995, which guaranteed it the title of champion that year, but is now modernized with futuristic fantasies. reflected in the giant spaceship and lots of technology. The always smiling host Sabrina Sato, as always, shone like a queen in front of the rhythm players, and among other celebrities, Ana Paula Minerato stood out, who felt ill before the parade and had to seek medical help, but returned and marched courageously until the end and actress Alessandra Negrini.

The other two bands performing early this Sunday morning were Águia de Ouro and Académicos do Tucuruvi. Agia praised the importance of radio in Brazil, recalling in Anembi the 100th anniversary of the National Radio, which became the springboard for the fame of many artists of the time, and brought to the avenue another living legend, radio presenter Eli Correia and Academicians from Tukuruvi ended the parades with conversations about influence in Brazil’s African traditions and mysticism, represented, among other things, by the philosophy of Ifa and the game of buzio.