IMPERIO SERRANO news report

Well, here in Portland we've had the first of our 2 insane Carnaval parties - this first one being a private party that both Tudo Beleza and the Lions were hired to play for. You know, the usual backyard party with 2 hooded people on black horses at the entrance, 2 samba baterais and 8 girls in sequinned bikinis, a dozen or so contortionists, jugglers and fire dancers ( Zak said: "Fire dancers - that's standard for Portland, right?" ) a 12-foot wide bar with 3 bartenders, an enormous marble cauldron full of eerie blue flames that accidentally set one guest's king's robe on fire, an enormous parade behind 2 chefs carrying a roasted pig, and of course the solemn sacrificial burning of a straw god placed placed on a gigantic floating black cross that was floating around in the heated swimming pool.

It's good to know there are still some rich people in the world.

Meanwhile, in Rio - Carnaval has arrived. I'm so frustrated that not only can I not be there, I can't even take enough time off work tonight to go over to Christina's place to watch the O Globo broadcast. But in my little scrap of time of fifteen free minutes, right now, while dinner is cooking, I can check O Dia's escola-by-escola news updates from their websites. Translations of the first 3 articles follow.


IMPERIO SERRANO (fingers crossed!) -

The first escola to parade this Sunday, Império Serrano entered the Avenida with one major factor in their favor: the samba-enredo. A reprisal from 1976 called "The Legend of the Mermaids and the Mysteries of the Sea", the theme of this escola from Madureira thrilled the grandstands.

"Even if I won the lottery I wouldn't feel so happy. To see my samba brought back and to parade with the escola again is the greatest emotion in the world" said Vicente Mattos, 70 years old, the only one of the composers of this samba who is still living.

The comissão de frente (dance group) was one of the high points of the parade. Four of the 15 members arrived on motorized "patinetes" (?), representing seahorses.

The solo debut of carnaval designer Márcia Laje went very well, and the escola succeeded in telling it story clearly, with floats that made sense.

The singer Maria Ria was one of the attractions. She paraded with the escola for the 3rd consecutive year, at the side of singer Arlindo Cruz. Arlindo took charge of the bateria warm-up, which used his song "Meu lugar."

Império Serrano's parade began around 9:20, with 7 floats and 3,800 paraders. "It's the best samba this year. We have a great chance of being among the champions, but much will depend on the group harmony" said the singer Nego. Nego was with Império between 2004 and 2007, though last year he sang with Viradouro.

The queen of the bateria, Quitéria Chagas, cried a little before entering in the Avenida. Her costume, golden with 50 real emeralds, has to be "leiloada" (?) after Caranval. The queen said that she didn't know the exact value of the costume.

"To parade with this revived samba is like entering a completely full Maracana soccer stadium to root for Flamengo. I'm so thrilled" she said.

The president of the escola, Humberto Soares, calculated the cost of this Carnaval at 3.3 million reais. "The [economic] crisis tripped is up, but it's necessary to use some creativity," he commented.
[skipping a paragraph with too many words I don't know]
"I believe that we'll stay in Grupo Especial; we're doing well and in 2010 we'll be in the fight for the title," he said. Soares has recently brought famous artists like Maria Rita to the Avenida.

There was a tense moment when Dona Olegária, a member of the Velha Guarda ["old guard", one of the elderly members of the escola], had to be suspended and carried to the highest part of the last car. [Sometimes they have to use cranes to get people onto the floats] There was a difficulty in the "remocão" (?), as well as the fact that it involved an elderly person. But at the end, she succeeded in climbing up and the parade continued normally.