By Ciara Long, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Set high on the hillside of Rio’s bohemian Santa Teresa neighborhood, Portuguese colonial-style home The Mansion has a unique Carnival offering for this year, beginning on Friday, February 24th. Recalling Carnivals of the 19th century, the three-story home will treat guests to a masquerade ball.
Embellished with works of modern art and surrounded by Santa Teresa’s pastel-painted colonial buildings, The Mansion’s immediate surroundings promise a refined evening. With special promotions on a range of drinks including Veuve Cliquot champagne and gin and tonic, the masquerade ball invites guests to imagine the settings in a different era.
Visitors to the Bal Masque will be able to mill through some of The Mansion’s seven event spaces, capable between them of holding five hundred guests. The Mansion’s outdoor areas only add to the spectacular setting, views of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain), Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), and Guanabara Bay.
“It’s a traditional masked ball with a lot of glamour, inspired by the traditional masked balls in France. […] There’s no better way to open Carnival than with a masquerade ball,” The Mansion’s publicist Maria Marta Mendonça said. Adding, “We are expected to host 1,200 people and with an even better structure than last year.”
Tickets to the event are available online, with the first group priced at R$60 for women and R$80 for men. There is a limit of two tickets per CPF used to purchase, and guests will find The Mansion easily accessible by bus, taxi or Uber via Laranjeiras’s Rua Alice.
The Mansion, which re-opened in 2013 under the ownership of French hotelier Jean Christophe Marois, hosted exclusive pop-up events during both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Restored and transformed by Marois, who is also known in Santa Teresa for his work on the Rio180º Boutique Hotel (now renamed The Villa), The Mansion has become a space known for its unique ambiance.
What: Bal Masque by Veuve Cliquot
When: Friday, February 24th, 10PM – 6AM
Where: The Mansion, Rua Dr Julio Otoni, 444, Santa Teresa
Entrance: R$60 – R$80