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The Carnival Parade Is Canceled, and Rio Is Reeling
Oct 1, 2020
Wars, disease and political turmoil have never prevented Rio de Janeiro from putting on its famous carnival. Now, the pandemic has forced a suspension of the annual parade, at great cost to the city and its residents.
RIO DE JANEIRO — For more than a century, Rio de Janeiro’s carnival has been an irrepressible force, unstoppable by wars, disease, labor strikes or political repression.
Raucous celebrations took over city streets despite the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, during both World Wars and through Brazil’s military dictatorship. Glitter flew, hips swayed and drummers pounded in 2008, despite a dengue outbreak that sickened more than 200,000 in the state.
Even in 2014, when trash collectors struck, the revelry continued amid the filth.
“Carnival is effectively uncontrollable,” said Felipe Ferreira, a researcher at Rio de Janeiro State University who has studied the evolution of the city’s world renowned festival. “It’s a time when people seize the streets.”
But now, amid the pandemic, the official carnival parade has been suspended, indefinitely. Rio is reeling.
“I want this moment to come, this moment when we will celebrate life that defeats death, when we will reunite, gather,” said Mr. Vieira, the artistic director of Estação Primeira de Mangueira, one of Rio’s most traditional samba groups. “But this moment is not possible yet.”
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