Parading in the Sambadrome (2/2)

Parading in the Sambadrome (2/2)

Going to the sambadrome with a costume

To foreigners, I´d recommend a tour operator for taking you to the sambadrome with a costume. It is safer and the tour operator would also provide your transfer to the sambadrome, by picking you up in your hotel and taking you to the samba school´s concentration at the scheduled time (see yesterday post). 

Thousands of people concentrate at a street close to the sambadrome, so it is very hard to someone who doesn´t speak portuguese to get there without some guidance. It´s different of going to a specific place at the sambadrome, because the bleachers and places are well signed, and there´s more professional personel to help. 

Samba school´s costumes are very beautiful and detailed, but at the same time very heavy to carry and to dress. That´s a rule with very few exceptions. Taking the metro, a bus or even a taxi can be a hard task with such a costume. Besides, some schools can even forbid you to parade if you arrive with your costume broken, or lacking parts. They may have someone to fix it, but if they don´t, they won´t have any pity on forbidding you to join the parade, and they won´t pay you back. That´s because a broken costume means a smaller grade in the eyes of the jury, and samba schools will take it very seriously. 

Remember, the parade is serious stuff. Arriving drunk? Nope. 

Even going to the bathroom with the costume will be a problem. 

Be aware that you´ll have just 20 minutes, at maximum 30 minutes to cross all the sambadrome. So, it is a lot of effort in exchange of a very small time in the parade.  

So, what´s the big deal? Well, I didn´t, but everybody who parades says it is an unforgettable experience. So, if you have the energy, the money, and the patience, you may try. 

Watching and parading

You can buy the ticket for the sambadrome to watch the parade at the same night, but you also must have in mind you won´t see some other samba schools, while you´re preparing for your parade. 

To have both experiences, the best thing to do would be buying the costume for one night, and the ticket for watching the parade in the other night.