São Paulo kicks off Brazil’s Carnival 2023 parades

São Paulo, South America’s largest city, kicked off Brazil’s Carnival 2023 on Friday night, with the traditional samba school parades, in a renewed party after two years of suspensions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

São Paulo is one of Brazil’s leading sites for Carnival festivities, and Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Recife, traditional crowded squares for the country’s main popular celebration.

The parades with packed grandstands at the São Paulo sambadrome began with the Independente Tricolor samba school, which chose the theme of the Trojan War to showcase its music and color.

All the samba schools, which are neighborhood groups that dedicate themselves year-round to the culture of music, percussion, costumes, and the making of floats, return with renewed energy.

The other samba schools that add luster to the São Paulo Carnival are Académicos de Tatuapé, Barroca, Unidos de Vila Maria, Rosas de Ouro, Tom Maior, and Gavioes da Fiel.

On Saturday night and early Sunday morning, the samba schools Estrela do Terceiro Milênio, Académicos de Tucuruví, Mancha Verde, Imperio da Casa Verde, Mocidade Alegre Aguia de Ouro, and Dragoes da Real will parade.

Each school develops a theme with which they parade, and next Tuesday, a jury decides the winner in an event awaited by the entire carnival public.

In addition, the Carnival festivities also include more than 500 street parades that started their shows last weekend.

According to Mayor Ricardo Nunes, São Paulo estimates that 15 million people participate in street celebrations.

Sunday and Monday night will be the time of the parades in Rio de Janeiro’s sambadrome.