DESTINATIONS RIO CARNIVAL LATIN AMERICA


first – though wherever they head they’ll likely find a party of some kind, with pop-up stages scattered across the city and Lapa’s main square and bars bursting day and night.


ASK THE EXPERT


Marcelo Alvez, president, Riotur “Six million people fill the streets during carnival, and this year we welcomed 1.5 million tourists, up from 1.1million last year, generating around £714million for the economy. We don’t want this influx of tourism to only be in February, though. We want to keep it going year-round, so we’re launching more than 70 events over the year, from sports to music festivals and beyond. We’ve got new infrastructure thanks to the Olympics in 2016 – a new metro line, light railway trains, 70,000 new hotel rooms and lots more events spaces – so it’s a great time for tourists to come.”


w BEYOND THE FESTIVITIES Even during carnival season, Rio isn’t just about the partying, with plenty of sights to see beyond the fiesta. Among the standouts for me was Christ the Redeemer, the 30m-tall statue which towers over the city from the peak of Corcovado hill, a reminder that Brazil is home to the biggest Catholic population in the world. Equally impressive was Sugarloaf Mountain, the soaring rock which juts up into the sky. Cable cars whizz visitors to the top, with 360-degree views of mist-covered mountains rising in ripples from a bed of green foliage. But most memorable was a visit


to Lapa’s Selarón Steps, an outdoor ascent covered in brightly coloured mosaic tiles, created by Chilean artist Jorge Selarón as a “tribute to the Brazilian people”. As we climbed its ceramic slope


we were treated to a mini samba performance by three locals playing drums, including a 10-year-old boy prancing around with the rapidity and precision only a Brazilian could pull off. It was an impromptu, energetic


LEFT: Christ the Redeemer


BELOW: The Selarón Steps


spectacle that echoed the sheer vivacity (and talent) seen at the Sambadrome – and an apt image for the carnival as a whole. These steps are a place where people


from all walks of life gather: locals from the favelas, where samba originated in the early 20th century; musicians from Santa Teresa, the bohemian neighbourhood nearby; and tourists from across the world, who come to witness this unique celebration. That sense of bringing people


together is exactly what Rio Carnival is about. Every part of society is


represented in one way or another here, and from hectic bloco to high-society ball, extravagant parade to street-side performance, you’ll find something to suit anyone who’s up for letting their hair down for a week of all-out, anything-goes escapism. Book it: Tucan Travel’s five-night Rio Carnival City Experience costs from £759, including twin-share hotel accommodation with breakfast, orientation walk and dinner, city tour and sector 11 Sambadrome ticket. Flights are extra. tucantravel.com


Carnival facts


w The five-day fiesta officially begins on the Friday before Ash Wednesday and finishes on the Tuesday – but it actually goes on for more than a week.


w The 2019 Rio Carnival runs from March 1-6.


w More than 30,000 people take part in the Sambadrome parades, spread across four nights. Sunday and Monday showcase the city’s elite ‘Special Group’ schools, while Friday and Saturday are the ‘Access Group’ parades for those a level down.


w Carnival is said to have originated in Greece around 520BC as a thanksgiving to the gods, and was later a day of revelry for the Romans. It was brought to Brazil by the Portuguese in the 18th century.


64 travelweekly.co.uk 26 April 2018


PICTURES: SHUTTERSTOCK; BRUNO RYFER/PHOTOSHELTER.COM


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