Imperatriz Leopoldinense is the champion of Rio’s carnival, 22 years after its last title. The green, white and gold school of Ramos paraded on the Monday night with “O aperreio do cabra que o excomungado tratou com má-querença e o santíssimo não deu guarida”, of carnavalesco Leandro Vieira.
Imperatriz Leopoldinense travelled to the northeast to tell the story of the arrival in both heaven and hell of the bandit leader and folk hero, Lampião. It is the school’s ninth title and the carnavlesco’s third title having previously won with Mangueira in 2016 and 2019, in addition to having won the Série Ouro twice, with Imperatriz itself in 2020 and with Império Serrano in 2022. But it is Império Serrano that is relegated straight back to Série Ouro.
Joining Imperatriz for the winners’ parade will be Viradouro, Vila Isabel, Beija-Flor, Mangueira and Grande Rio.
The results of Rio’s Carnival Parade in 2023 were:
As always a diverse selection of themes and story lines have been chosen to be presented by the top schools at Rio’s carnaval.
In 2023 these include Vila Isabel that will celebrate the human capacity to have faith in what cannot be seen; Salgueiro that has chosen a plot about valuing freedom of expression, showing that paradise is built individually by each person, without restriction or sin. Mocidade will look at the cultural legacy of artists from Alto do Moura in Pernambuco, and the disciples of the artist Mestre Vitalino. Historic figures also feature and Viradouro will tell the story of Rosa Maria Egípcia who was brought from Africa to Brazil in 1925 and is credited as the first black woman to write a book in Brazil. Imperatriz Leopoldinense will travel to the northeast and tell the story of the arrival in both heaven and hell of the bandit leader and folk hero, Lampião. Império Serrano brings a storyline based on Arlindo Cruz’s success, “My Place”. In a tribute to the singer, the samba school will go through moments and places that marked his career.
Paraíso do Tuiuti will tell the story of the arrival and impact of buffaloes to Brazil, through the Marajó Island, in Pará, which inspired a cultural manifestation in the region. The state of Bahia is featured by three schools. Unidos da Tijuca will celebrate everything about Bahia, taking a lot of axé to the avenue and feature the joy of Bahia’s carnival. Mangueira will highlight the impact of women on the music of Bahia, while Beija-Flor will argue that the “true” independence of Brazil was the expulsion of the Portuguese troops from Bahia 200 years ago in 1823. Celebrating its centenary, Portela, one of the city’s most famous and traditional schools, will not surprisingly look back at the school’s history through the eyes of five characters who have been fundamental to the school and Rio’s carnival. And Grande Rio, the current champion of Rio’s carnival, will pay tribute to the musician and great sambista Zeca Pagodinho, who will join the school for the parade.
The main parades of the Grupo Especial – Rio’s top 12 ranking samba schools – will next take place on the nights of Sunday, 19 February and Monday, 20 February 2023.
Sunday, 19 February 2023
Monday, 20 February 2023
In 2023 the main parades of the Grupo Especial in Rio de Janeiro’s carnival are currently scheduled to take place on the nights of Sunday, 19 February and Monday, 20 February 2022. The 12 schools and the order that they will parade in 2023 are:
Sunday, 19 February 2023
Monday, 20 February 2023
10 years ago in April 2012 we launched a labour of love, www.braziltheguide.com, which was followed two years later – in time for the 2014 FIFA World Cup – by the much more complete www.riotheguide.com.
The reason we launched the sites was that we were and still do get consulted about Rio and Brazil on a weekly basis and this seemed an easier way of telling people where to find the information and share it. We were also often asked when we would update “The Insider’s Guide to Rio de Janeiro”, last published in print form in 1995, and the web sites seemed the obvious answer. #brazil #riodejaneiro
As Latin America gets back to some form of normality, we have the list of what are considered to be the 100 best restaurants in Latin America “past and present”.
Due to the pandemic the organisers decided to come up with a retrospective list, which spans 12 countries and was created by aggregating the votes from all previous editions, all the way down to No.1, being crowned The Greatest Restaurant in Latin America 2013-2021. The top ten are:
Brazil has 17 restaurants listed in the Top 100 and they are:
The short video counts them down:
Brazil’s most popular news magazine, Veja, also produces special editions for Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and both produce and annual guide to the cities bars and restaurants, “Comer & Beber”. The guide has just published its 25th edition for both Rio and São Paulo and have also produced their list of the best in each city for 2021. They are:
RIO DE JANEIRO
SÃO PAULO
Originally planned for Argentina and Colombia in 2020, and then moved to 2021 due to the pandemic, the Copa America was finally switched to Brazil at the very last moment with games taking place from 13 June to 10 July 2021. Brazil had hosted and won the cup in 2019.
Group games will be played across four stadiums – Nilton Santos (Rio), Olympic (Goiana), Arena Pantanal (Cuiaba) and Mane Garrincha (Brasilia) – with the final to be played at the Maracanã in Rio.
There is to be an all Brazilian final to the Copa Libertadores, South America’s equivalent of the Champions League, when Palmeiras and Santos will play on 30 January having respectively knocked out Argentina’s River Plate and Boca Juniors in the semi-finals.
It is only the third time in the history of the competition that two Brazilian teams have played the final. It means that Brazil will now have had the most finalists in the history of the competition with 38, compared to Argentina’s 37, but even with Brazil’s 21st title in 2021, Argentina still leads with 25 titles.
The current holder of the Copa Libertadores is Brazil’s Flamengo. Santos is a three time winner of the Libertadores (1962, 1963 and 2011, losing one other final) and Palmeiras has won once in 1999 (but has lost three finals).
The final on 30 January is to be played at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro and will kick off at 17.00 (20.00 UK time and should be shown in Britain on the BBC).
Despite all the challenges faced by the hospitality industry, the annual list of “Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants” was announced on 3 December. Bragging rights for the top spot went to Don Julio in Buenos Aires.
Nine restaurants on the list of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants are to be found in Brazil. They are A Casa do Porco, D.O.M., Maní, Evvai, Mocotó and Corrutela in São Paulo; Oteque and Lasai in Rio de Janeiro; and Manu in Curitiba.
The full list to give food for thought is:
Brazil the Guide 