By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Although the Carnival holiday ended on Wednesday February 10th, the celebrations are far from over as dozens of street parties known as blocos are scheduled to take place this weekend on Saturday February 13th and Sunday February 14th.
One notable bloco parading on Saturday is Quizomba. Known for their eclectic repertoire that adds Brazilian rhythms to works by artists ranging from Alceu Valença to Nirvana to Rolling Stones, the bloco will celebrate fifteen years of participating in Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval de Rua (Street Carnival) this year.
On Saturday, Quizomba will start their parade at Rua Dos Arcos in Lapa beginning at 10AM. Then, with two hundred drummers dressed as everything from circus dancers to clowns plus an estimated 10,000 to 25,000 parade attendees, the bloco will move down Rua Teixeira De Freitas to Av. Augusto Severo to Rua Teixeira De Freitas to Av. Mem De Sá and then return to Rua Dos Arcos at around 2PM.
Additionally parading on Saturday will be the Bom Gosteiros bloco. An estimated 10,000 attendees will join the bloco’s parade in Recreio from 1PM to 5PM. In Ipanema from 4PM to 8PM, an estimated 20,000 people will join the Bafafá parade and in Leme an estimated 50,000 people will join the Mulheres De Chico parade from 5PM to 9PM.
Canadian expatriate Jane Pepper has been celebrating her first Carnival in Rio, “over Carnival weekend I went to six blocos across the city. This weekend I will be going to the Mulheres de Chico bloco in Leme on Saturday evening”. Adding, “that is, if my body can handle another bloco!”
On Sunday February 14th, the popular bloco Monobloco is predicted to attract 400,000 attendees to its parade in Centro from 9AM to 3PM. In Recreio, 30,000 people are estimated to be in attendance during the Tó No Recreio Com A Confraira parade from 3PM to 7PM. In Botafogo, 10,000 people are anticipated to join the Boka De Espuma parade from 4PM to 8PM and 50,000 people are expected to join the Tamo Junto in Folia parade in Padre Miguel from 4PM to 8PM.
* For a complete list of all Rio Carnival 2016 blocos, see the wikirio page.