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Paris 1900 in 2003
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THE
STREETS OF RIO DE JANEIRO
THE
BIGGEST party in Brazil is not Carnaval, it's the World Cup. Carnaval
is not celebrated by a good part of Brazilians, for whom it simply represents
a time to relax for a three-day stretch during Lent. But
the streets are the most spectacular thing to watch, from the sidewalk
to the telephone poles, from the roads to the city walls, everything is
decorated by the city's residents. Neighborhoods mobilize to collect funds
and organize the decoration according to the expertise of each person.
Each street affirms its identity and an informal competition between different
streets of the neighborhood ensues.
RIO DE JANEIRO Magazine
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Copyright 2002 Marc Voelckel Updates
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On
the other hand, the World Cup is the time where all Brazilians unite and
come together as a community to support their team.
signs
of all sorts celebrating soccer, the homeland, or even love and peace.
Stores decorate their windows with soccer balls and flags.
In some cities, the media promote an official competition with a strict
judging system and a jury composed of soccer and entertainment professionals.
In Rio, a local television station organizes the Rua show de bola contest,
which was won by Jorge Rudge for the fifth consecutive time.
The
national flag is very common pattern.
Many
paintings on the street represent cartoon heroes, which are invoked to
support the team. A good portion of the decorators are, indeed, children
and adolescents.
The
decorations are sometimes more elaborate. In this case, a samba school
has borrowed this figurine that it will use to decorate its carts for
the inhabitants of the street Perreira Nunes.
