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MUMBAI:
The Rio Carnival is considered as the biggest party on earth and
the ultimate expression of what it is to be Brazilian. An extraordinary
parade, it is truly the most amazing procession on earth. People
around the world have always been curious about the Brazilian Carnival
and have wished to take part in it. Discovery Channel will give
viewers an opportunity to soak in the carnival's celebrations as
it takes place next month in Brazil.
So
while the party is on in Brazil, get set to witness all the pomp
and euphoria of the biggest celebration on earth on Discovery Channel.
DISCOVERY ATLAS: BRAZIL REVEALED episode, scheduled to air on Discovery
Channel on Saturday, February 2nd at 9 pm and Monday, February 4th
at 8 pm, will present the entire story of the Rio Carnival just
as it takes place in Brazil from February 2nd to 5th. The episode
will present the entire history of the festival, dispel myths and
narrate interesting stories around the carnival. Some less-known
facts of the carnival that will be shown in the episode include:
- The
word Carnival comes from the Latin carne vale meaning "goodbye
to meat". Carnival marks the start of Lent, a period of 40
days when Catholics are expected to abstain from eating flesh
or more symbolically shun the pleasures of the flesh.
- Few
people outside Brazil realize that the focus of Carnival is an
organized competition. The 75,000 spectators that fill the stadium
are not just here for the show; they are here to cheer for their
team.
- Brazil
has long been thea world capital of plastic surgery. With a quarter
of a million operations performed a year, over half of them in
Rio, Carnival is the most popular time of year to have them. Before
the 2001 Carnival, so many Rio women wanted breast enhancements
that the country ran out of silicone implants.
- In
Rio de Janeiro, the locals start preparing for the event much
beforehand. On the beaches in Copacabana, bodies are toned in
readiness. In preparation for the revealing costumes they'll be
wearing, the residents of Rio are getting as close as modesty
will allow to an overall tan.
- In
1984 the carnival found its permanent home, the Sambadrome. The
Sambadrome is a large structure, which includes several buildings
that make a circular open area in the middle. In the off season,
the buildings of the Sambadrome are used as classrooms for the
local public schools.
-
The roots of this spectacle extend throughout the country and
its soul springs from the traditions of the Amazon's first inhabitants,
the indigenous Indians.
- Every
Saturday night in the run up to Carnival the Mangueira Samba Palace
is filled with partygoers. Each of them pays ten dollars for the
chance to dance in an authentic samba hall. These sessions are
also rehearsals for the parade designed to get everybody in the
community moving and singing together as one.
- By
evening 75,000 spectators will spill out of the multi-tiered stands
that line the route. They will have paid between five and five
hundred dollars for the privilege. Celebrities will peer out from
the expensive camarotes, the VIP balconies that serve as party
rooms for the rich and famous.
The
Brazilians share the dream to transform but for them the transformation
is often fleeting. One moment of perfection counts for more than
a lifetime of quite good. In sport, in art, in business, in life
- they live for the moment. These ideas of inversion and transformation
are at the heart of Carnival. Night becomes day. The poor become
rich. The plain become glamorous. And the world's biggest party
becomes a serious competition.
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