Rio's Carnival parade is back, as street bands ache to party

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro's Mayor Eduardo Paes on Wednesday ceremoniously handed control of the city to King Momo, a ritual representing the upheaval of the status quo -- but it remains to be seen how much post-pandemic partying is in store during the first Carnival in two years.

Samba schools' elaborate floats and feather-festooned dancers will parade between packed bleachers starting Wednesday night. As for the more than 500 street parties that usually run wild through the city, City Hall refused to grant them authorization, claiming it lacked sufficient time to prepare.

That dissonance has sparked debate over whether City Hall is stifling Carnival's essence, and if denizens should seize the streets as their own. Some organizers couldn’t care less what is allowed; they will turn out anyway — part party, part protest — and Mayor Paes, a confessed Carnival enthusiast, has said he will refrain from deploying the Municipal Guard.

“City Hall won't impede people from being in public spaces, from celebrating, but it's impossible that it happen at such (large) size,” Paes said in response to a reporter’s question after giving King Momo the city's key.

His statement echoed comments on Sunday while visiting samba schools that were putting finishing touches on their floats. The competing schools were corraled from the streets into the Sambadrome in the 1980s, and became Rio’s quintessential Carnival display for tens of thousands of attendees willing to shell out for tickets. Their parades will run through Sunday night.

In the Sambadrome's shadow are the free parties known as “blocos”, which stream through streets and pour into plazas, many of whose members relish subverting established order. What blocos lack in glamour they make up for with glitter and grit....