Rio Carnival : A Big Bum Trip

Videos

Carnival Kicks Off in Rio

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sourced by Fred Miller

From Goa, India to Thessaloniki, Greece, from Berlin, Germany to New Orleans, Louisiana,....millions of folks the world over have been waiting all year for this Mardi Gras weekend. This is the time anything goes, and usually does. The lines of common decency are brushed aside to make way for the ultimate dance and float competition in the ultimate party town, Rio De Janeiro.

Yes, despite all the stories of poverty in the shantytowns, the child prostitution, drug trafficking and extreme street violence, the Rio scene remains the funkiest on the planet. Almost as a response to the problems mentioned above, here they live these nights as if there's no tomorrow. Which well might be for some, given the non-stop crush of human bodies against each other, swaying and intoxicated, entranced by the hypnotic, incessant throbbing of a thousand drums. But it's not all magic that makes this happen. Behind the wild party scenes are many stories of hopes, tears, frustration, dreams and manipulation by the promoters.

*From Yahoo News : ' Chosen for their looks, Samba skills and charisma, the job of a drum queen is to dance non-stop in front of hundreds of drummers, wearing little more than a minuscule costume, a feathered headdress and high heels. Traditionally the most beautiful woman in a community, these days most queens are actresses or models chosen by Samba schools to get maximum publicity in the run-up to the three-day Carnival....'

Here's Raissa de Oliveros, one Samba School Queen who's been reigning since she was 17, which makes her a five-year veteran, now on the brink of being eliminated.

Raissa's toughest competition is a funky Diva nicknamed Valesca "Big Bum" Santos,

a vocalist, dancer, Playboy model and 2009's Mardi Gras Bum to Watch.   

Don't put this behind you.

Lots of Rio Carnival pics on Flickr