Celebrate Carnaval in South America

“My head was pounding. Fireworks crackled overhead. Hordes jeered, screamed, waved and then broke into joyous whirls of samba. The smell was unbearable, an open sewer ran beside our Sambódromo warm-up lane, and yet thousands of people were crammed alongside the channel of feces just to catch a glimpse of all of us. [...] Nothing prepares you for that last corner as you turn in, behind the extravagant themed floats. Fiberglass Amazon tribesmen 30 feet tall, polystyrene stallions cascading from the sides of painstakingly fashioned vehicles. When they say Brazilians live and work the year round for Carnaval, they are not mistaken.”

“Then, there it is, a stretch of almost a kilometer in which we are supposed to – indeed, have been ordered to – samba as if our lives depended on it. To the left and to the right nearly 70,000 people rise up in the stands, crammed into Oscar Niemeyer's Sambódromo parade stadium. [...] I felt I owed it to this crowd to give it my all. They had come here to witness a spectacle. Regardless of my samba skills, I would shake my body, swing myself around and make this a parade to remember.”

“Para mí, realmente disfruté el espíritu y la pasión de los Barranquilleros (For me, I really enjoyed the spirit and passion of the Barranquilleros). As soon as we arrived, the decorations, costumes, and music of Carnaval were everywhere. They even start the festivities several weeks before the actual Carnaval. That’s how much people love this incredibly fun time of the year here. ¡Los desfiles fueron increíbles! (The parades were incredible!). It really was amazing watching two of the big parades in person. At the Batella de Flores (Battle of Flowers), we arrived a bit late and didn’t bother trying to get tickets for the stands as they were all packed. While we couldn’t see the floats very clearly, it was still tons of fun celebrating with all the people in the street.”