Carnival - the Soul of Brazil

by Tomoko Oyama
(Saitama, Japan)

I have never been to Brazil, but I have a friend from there. He said the Carnival is the soul of Brazilians, and the best event that he is looking forward to.

Carnival is held before Lent, which is 40 days except Sundays before Easter. Especially, the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro is the world's most famous carnival.

People enjoy dancing, singing, and watching samba contests all day. At the contests, many teams called "escola de samba" take part in them.

Every year, they decide on their concept of their dance and float, then practice for the contest. There are some groups as the team rank and the rank is decided by the result of the contest.

I have watched it on a TV show, and it was so beautiful and enthusiastic.

I hope to see it someday.