- Title: BRAZIL: CARNIVAL CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE WITH GAY GALA.
- Date: 13th February 2002
- Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (FEBRUARY 12, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF STREET PROCESSION IN IPANEMA 2. VARIOUS OF SAMBA SCHOOLS PERFORMING IN SAMBADROME 3. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SHOUTING AT TRANSVESTITES AND GAYS AS THEY ENTER "GAY GALA" 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) PARTICIPANT IN GAY GALA, YUYO MARAVILLA, SAYING: "If the wor
- Embargoed: 28th February 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
- Country: Brazil
- Reuters ID: LVA8LDOTA25VYFBVW6KKVF1XMUIF
- Story Text: Revelry has filled the streets of Rio de Janeiro for a
fifth day as elite samba troupes of Brazil's "marvellous city"
waited nervously to see which had captured a spot in Carnival
history by winning a two-night parade competition at the
60,000-seat Sambadrome.
The drag queens of the Ipanema Band, who paraded the
city streets earlier in the Carnival, prepared to strut
mincingly down the Ipanema beach promenade, again wearing high
heels, G-strings, feathers and heavy make-up.
All over Brazil, Latin America's biggest country with 170
million people, millions enjoyed another day of raucous
partying, which is set to carry on past the official end of
the pre-Lenten festival at midnight on Tuesday.
After two consecutive days of overnight parade
competitions at the Rio Sambadrome, some 50,000 people in the
premier league of 14 samba groups began a tense 24-hour wait
to see which had won the contest and a place in Carnival
history.
The competition among the top samba troupes on Sunday
(February 10) and Monday (February 11) night was the
Carnival's showpiece, an extravaganza of scantily clad
dancers, elaborate floats and thunderous drums that organisers
said would attract a record number of tourists.
Some of the top troupes carefully stored away their
feathered head-dresses and glittering costumes in the hope
they would wear them again at Saturday's (February 16)
victors' parade.
Elsewhere in Rio, one of the most famous parties of the
Carnival, the "Gay Gala", got underway just as the rest of the
celebrations were wrapping up.
"If the word 'gay' means happy, then Carnival is gay, it
is the ultimate to be gay, I wish everyone was gay," said
transvestite, Yuyo Maravilla.
Hundreds of glamorous transvestites, gliding by in
brilliant costumes, gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the huge
gay party which every year sees Carnival out.
City authorities expected a record 370,000 tourists in Rio
for the Carnival period, which is a traditional festival
celebrated in many Catholic countries in the days before Lent,
a period of fasting and penitence.
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