RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It’s that time of year in Rio de Janeiro: Carnival!
Carnival in the Brazilian city has two sides: the street parties, known as blocos, and the parades at the legendary Sambadrome.
Performers from the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school dance during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Performers from the Viradouro samba school parade during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Since Friday afternoon, hundreds of street parties have been roving through Rio’s streets, each with its own aesthetic, theme or musical style. They’re raucous, rambunctious romps with thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of partygoers.
There are also street vendors who race across parks and up hills, from downtown to Copacabana and Ipanema, to position their carts loaded up with beer and water to quench the thirst of the revelers.
Revelers gather in a street during Carnival in Sao Luiz do Paraitinga, Brazil, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
A reveler dressed as Ganesha, a Hindu deity, center, watches the “Ceu na Terra” or “Heaven on Earth” Carnival street party in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Revelers gather on a bridge during Carnival in Sao Luiz do Paraitinga, Brazil, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
The street parties are where you put on a zany costume and seize your main character moment, or show some skin and then cover it with glitter. Hand the reins to your wild inner child. Get silly with strangers. Never mind war or politics. Forget rising prices, strained relationships. Instead, embrace euphoria and shine.
But Carnival’s main event is the Sambadrome — the be-all, end-all. On this 700-meter (nearly half-mile) concrete avenue, samba schools compete to put on the best parade with feathered, shimmering costumes and enormous, elaborate floats.
A dancer from the Colorado do Bras samba school performs during a carnival parade in Sao Paulo, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Performers from the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school dance during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
The schools are mostly based in working-class communities known as favelas that often go overlooked. This is their one shot each year to claim the spotlight, get recognition — and maybe even glory.
Judges spread along the avenue evaluate the parade in nine categories, among them costumes, drumming and harmony, and residents work almost all year for this. They pound the drums with perfect synchrony, sing their hearts out and samba till their feet hurt.
It’s music, dance, storytelling, culture. It’s beauty and it’s fleeting, with each parade lasting about 75 minutes until — poof — all done.
But soon enough, samba schools start looking toward next year’s parade. In Rio, time marches on, with a smile.
Revelers share a kiss during the traditional Mud Block carnival party in Paraty, Brazil, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
A reveler holds a tiki torch shooting out red smoke during a Mud Block carnival party in Paraty, Brazil, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Not to be completely outshined by Brazil’s second-largest city, the sprawling metropolis of Sao Paulo has its own notable parade competition and has seen its street party scene mushroom in recent years.
In the northeastern city of Olinda, revelers crammed the cobblestone streets joined by towering puppets up to 13 feet (4 meters) high. They depicted Brazilian and foreign musicians, soccer stars Neymar and Lionel Messi, U.S. President Donald Trump and — most importantly this year — Fernanda Torres. Her best actress Oscar nomination has transformed her into Brazil’s Carnival muse nationwide and created a World Cup-esque atmosphere.
A large puppet of U.S. President Donald Trump is paraded during Carnival celebrations alongside other puppets of local politicians and artists in Olinda, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Monday, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Mantelli)
There are Carnival celebrations underway even in small towns. Sleepy, seaside Paraty, a few hours’ drive south of Rio, saw hundreds of joyous partyers throw themselves into the silty shallows, emerging gray from the mud and then proceeding to dance and parade on the beach. In Sao Paulo state’s countryside, thousands of revelers, families and tourists sang and danced through the colorful, colonial streets of Sao Luiz do Paraitinga to the tune of traditional Carnival marches.
In Brazil, it’s said that the new year doesn’t begin until Carnival comes to a close, and that hour is fast approaching.
In the meantime: Viva o Carnaval!
Fans cheer before the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school parade during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A reveler dressed as a Pierrot sings during the “Cordao do Boitata” street pre-carnival party in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A pregnant woman from the Viradouro samba school parades during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Owners and their pets take part in the “Blocao” dog carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A reveler performs on stilts during the “Ceu na Terra” or “Heaven on Earth” Carnival street party in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Transgender women Negriny Venture, left, and Leticia Mamede prepare Carnival costumes for the Paraiso de Tuiuti samba school in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Transgender woman Negriny Venture dances during a Paraiso de Tuiuti samba school rehearsal for Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
An artist prepares costumes ahead of Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A performer from the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school dances during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Transgender women take a samba class at the Paraiso de Tuiuti samba school ahead of the Carnival parade in Rio Janeiro, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Revelers attend the Carmelitas street party on the first official day of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Transgender woman Negriny Venture rehearses at the Paraiso de Tuiuti samba school for the Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Revelers gather on a bridge during Carnival in Sao Luiz do Paraitinga, Brazil, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
