Virus disrupts Rio's Carnival

RIO DE JANEIRO -- A cloud of uncertainty that has hung over Rio de Janeiro throughout the coronavirus pandemic has been lifted, but gloom remains -- the annual Carnival parade of flamboyant samba schools won't be held in February.

And while the decision is being characterized as a postponement, no new date has been set.

Rio's League of Samba Schools announced Thursday night that the spread of the coronavirus has made it impossible to safely hold the traditional parades that are a cultural mainstay and, for many, a livelihood.

"Carnival is a party upon which many humble workers depend. The samba schools are community institutions, and the parades are just one detail of all that," said Luiz Antonio Simas, a historian who specializes in Rio's Carnival. "An entire cultural and productive chain was disrupted by covid."

Rio's City Hall has yet to announce a decision about the Carnival street parties that also take place across the city. But its tourism promotion agency said in a statement Sept. 17 that without a vaccine, it is uncertain when large public events can resume.

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Brazil's first confirmed coronavirus case was Feb. 26, one day after this year's Carnival ended. As the number of infections grew, the samba schools that participate in the glitzy annual parade halted preparations for the 2021 event.

Nearly all of Rio's samba schools are closely linked to working-class communities. Their processions include elaborate floats accompanied by tireless drummers and costumed dancers who sing at the top of their lungs to impress a panel of judges. Tens of thousands of spectators pack the bleachers of the arena, known as the Sambadrome, while millions watch on television.

Before the schools began competing in the 1930s, Carnival was celebrated in dance halls and haphazardly on the streets, Simas said. The parades entered the Sambadrome in the 1980s, and have become Rio's quintessential Carnival display.

The immense labor required for each show was already stymied by restrictions on gatherings that Rio's governor imposed in March. Even with those measures, Rio's metropolitan region, home to 13 million people, so far has recorded more than 15,000 deaths from covid-19.

Brazil has the third-highest number of cases in the world at more than 4.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. It has recorded nearly 140,000 deaths.

Some performers have resorted to odd jobs and gigs. Diogo Jesus, the lead dancer referred to as "master of ceremonies" in the Mocidade school, couldn't make rent without his income from private events. He started driving for Uber and sewing masks to sell at a fair.

"It was a blow. We live Carnival all year round, and many people when they realized everything would stop wound up getting sick or depressed," Jesus said at his home in Madureira, a neighborhood in northern Rio. "Carnival is our life."

The last year Rio's Carnival was suspended was 1912, following the death of the foreign relations minister.

Revelers were undeterred during World War II. And they poured into the street every year during more than two decades of military dictatorship, until 1985.

Then came coronavirus.

Delay of the Carnival parade will deprive Rio state of much-needed tourism revenue. Last year, Carnival drew 2.1 million visitors and generated $725 million in economic activity, according to Riotur. A statement from the agency Thursday provided no clarity on the fate of the Carnival street parties.

Information for this article was contributed by Diarlei Rodrigues of The Associated Press.