Rio Carnival 1980s – the era of the Sambadrome

In the early 1980s the parade of samba schools of Rio de Janeiro was already a national institution and the largest source of dollars to capture the sector of tourism.

In 1982, Leonel Brizola of the state government, and Darcy Ribeiro, the vice-governor, had the idea of creating a fixed and permanent space for the parade of carnival.  This was not only due to the cultural importance of the event, but also to stop the need for assembly and disassembly of the bleachers every year.

Architect Oscar Niemeyer was commissioned.  The project was to increase by five times the capacity for the public, provide shelter from the public for the schools, and still have a space for the Museum of Carnival to preserve the history of the carnival.

While this was happening, the schools decided to organize the samba parades and created the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro in 1984.  It was comprised of ten schools in Group 1, which broke with the Association of Schools of samba, since the assemblies were the same weight of so-called smaller schools.

The League divided the parade of big schools into two days (Sunday and Monday of Carnival), had contracts with television stations that began to pay for the transmission of fashion, created merchandising, and received a percentage of tickets sold. With the new income, the schools were able to modernize with good facilities and now have sales throughout the year.
The boldness of the fantasy created by baiana Rosa Magalhaes for the Empress of Carnival in 1998 shows the mark of modernity in the Rio carnivals of the 1990s.

Master-room door-flags, drums and harmony of directors, handles, and carnival – all have been renumbered by his work.  The desfilantes of today are not only components of the schools but draw many Brazilian and foreign tourists, and great exposure in the media is sought by celebrities who use the premium to promote.

At the end of the 1980s samba schools of Rio de Janeiro became professional with a drive for over 100 million dollars, generating about 30 thousand jobs in the city.  This was in addition to a structure to create a network of micro and small businesses to support carnival.

The schools’ communities benefited from the growth in income and the organization within their blocks.  It allowed the creation of support services, vocational courses, the practice of sports and many other social activities that occur in several associations.  An example is the Olympic Village that was a high point of a sports project and was revered by Olympic athletes.

Joaosinho Thirty received criticism that the Beija Flor was a luxury and a waste.  Nilopolis then created the Mutirao Project, which aims to improve the quality of life in the small municipality of Baixada Fluminense.  This was accomplished through actions involving the public and city hall.  Over a period of some years, Nilopolis became the city with the best social indicators of the bottomlands.

With world-renowned fashion, with organization, with precisely controlled timing and rare incidents, with a modern sound system to prevent the crossing of samba, and a lighting system that enhances the scenery of the parade, there are now dozens of schools of samba spread over several countries. The two-day parade of major schools, and the catwalk parade of around 100 thousand participants, is transmitted to several countries with an audience of around 2 billion.

The schools will meet an average of three thousand to five thousand components, the floats becoming ever higher and with many effects.  There are new modern schools in addition to the more traditional.  Joaosinho Thirty continues to shine and other artists follow his style.  By the end of the 1980s schools’ parades are very similar, showing increasingly luxurious costumes and large floats.

But the very radical Joaosinho Thirty brings a new controversy to the Beija-Flor Nilopolis in 1989, a plot called rats and vultures drop my fantasy.  It speaks of the garbage of the luxurious and the impact caused to the school known for luxury.  The committee formed in front with many beggars and with tattered wings and allegories.  The samba caused astonishment, one of the most unforgettable moments of the Rio carnival. The Catholic Church banned a sculpture of open wings covered with bags of garbage hiding a Christ Redeemer.

First tri-champion of Sambadrome, the school is proud of its fashion that is at the same time unique and luxurious.  A main characteristic of carnival, it is noted in the works of Arlindo Rodrigues, Max Lopes, Viriato Ferreira and Rosa Magalhaes

Alias is the sign of the carnival scene, and almost always from the National School of Fine Arts.  Disciples of Fernando Pamplona, such as Max Lopes, considered the Wizard of colors, with Renato Lage show unmistakable “Spielberg style”.   A fan of light effects and neon, as marked by the season where he won titles for Independent Youth, Rosa Magalhaes distinguishes his daring style that combines modern luxury and baroque.  The Empress, made champion many times, was the major highlight of this season.

The majestic structure of Sambadrome bleachers makes them high and away from the track parades, receiving criticism for not allowing the public to interact with the samba schools.  The are just beyond and see parades apoteoticos with intense participation of the public as with the championships won by the Town Isabel in 1988.

The unforgettable Kizomba – Feast of the race, was one of the most beautiful samba plots in the history of carnival in 1992. The de Sa Estacio Pauliceia haggard, after 70 years of modernism in Brazil, had the public bleachers moving to the rhythm of the remarkable battery in 1993 with a memorable Salgueiro.  Got an Italian in the north led the audience to delirium when the classic chorus exploded in 1997 with the Viradouro Darkness! Light! The explosion of the universe of Thirty Joaosinho, is the delusion of the public to enter into the battery elements of funk rhythm.