In Brazil, the city of Rio de Janeiro closed its carnival this Sunday, February 26. The Imperatriz Leopoldinense samba school was crowned champion this year, with a theme on the popular culture of Cangaço, in the northeast of the country.
A few minutes before entering the avenue du Sambodrome, Maria, queen of the battery, does some stretching. She will jump on her high heels to dance in front of nearly 60,000 people. ” Today, the emotion is even more special, she says. We’ve already passed the jury pressure and all that, so all we have to do is enjoy, it’s gonna be wonderful “, she confides at the microphone of our correspondent in Rio de Janeiro, Sarah Cozzolino
Maria embodies the devil who seduces Lampião when he arrives in hell. This year, the school has decided to portray this legendary character from the Nordeste. Lampião, nickname of Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, was a famous gang leader, a cangaceiro which raged in the late 1920s and early 1930s in the Brazilian Northeast. He takes to the maquis with his brothers to avenge the assassination of his father and enters the legend by his feats of arms and their staging: costumes, jewels, photographs… and music, Mulher Rendeira, become an anthem of the Nordeste.
Keceli, one of the school’s musicians, was not surprised by this award: ” The proposal is brilliant, innovative. People were surprised with this small theater of dancers at the beginning. A funny, different proposition, and that’s what people want to see. »
E assim encerramos os desfiles das campeãs: Com bastante festa e alegria estampada no rosto de cada componente e integrante da Imperatriz Leopoldinense. ?
Wave, povo from Ramos! Vagueia, CPX! A Zona da Leopoldina é CAMPEÃ do Carnival! ?
? @riodejaneiro pic.twitter.com/rrel6h0KwT
— GRES Imperatriz Leopoldinense (@oficialgresil) February 26, 2023
► To read also: At the Rio de Janeiro carnival, the “flesh party” is in full swing
An exchange of energy
The costumes are reminiscent of this popular culture, through oxen, cacti… Cultural references also present in the anthem, a mixture of samba and forró, originating from this region.
“ There are few places in the world that have such a grand party as ours.says Jonathan, one of the six singers. There is an exchange of energy: we give to the public and they give us back. We wait for this moment all year long so when it arrives, it has to overflow, we have to have fun. The joy is all the stronger this Sunday, because the school had not won the first prize for twenty-two years.