Rio de Janeiro passed a sleepless night, holidays, and many locals and tourists up early today to devote himself body and soul to the spree "blocos" street gangs that give life to the carnival. EFE.
Saturday the Carnival official program started very early, at 7.00 am (9.00 GMT), with the parade of the "bloco" Céu na Terra, as every year is the early riser.
This band brought together thousands of people dressed in Santa Teresa, a bohemian neighborhood of steep, narrow streets, cut by the tram rails.
Céu na Terra plays the cheerful "marchinhas" typical songs Carnival, which this year added the pace of marrabenta, traditional music of Mozambique.
To honor the African country, officials of the troupe took giant puppets with Mozambican clothing and percussionist of the band dressed alike.
The troupe decided to shorten the route it runs to avoid passing near some favelas dominated by drug traffickers.
Last weekend, after the conclusion of the parade this same "bloco", a young man was shot dead allegedly fired by gangs in the favela Morro da Coroa.
Rio de Janeiro carnival started at noon on Friday and Saturday has scheduled 93 "blocos" throughout the city, some crowded like Cordão da Bola Preta, who hopes to gather about 1.5 million people in the center , according to estimates by the Mayor.