It's Carnaval!

When we moved here nearly 12 years ago, I had no idea anything could be larger than Christmas. Carnaval is. In Brasil, Christmas is fun. It's a holiday. It's a thang. But Carnaval is what most in Brasil live for.

It's difficult to describe Carnaval. Mardi Gras is kids play compared to this. There are parades and parties which last through the night. School is closed til Thursday of next week. The media reports that nearly 2,000,000 cars will leave the city. That's cars. Then, if you average 3 people per car...6,000,000 PEOPLE leave Sao Paulo and head for the beaches or mountains. THIS is Brasil.

Anyway, Samba schools participate in overnight parades. The schools are judged and awards are given Wednesday morning. Parades begin on live television beginning at 11pm and go til 7am. But these parades are not like George Washington standing there and waving. These floats are some of the most elaborate floats you'll ever see.

In northeast Brasil, it's called "The People's Carnaval". In the south, people take vacation time and participate indirectly with parties at home, or get away for a few days. In Salvador, in the northeast, it lasts all day, all night with parties, loud music, and in the streets. The parades, which are not like those in Sao Paulo or Rio, are lead by huge 18 wheelers with gigantic speakers all around, musicians and dancers on top of the trucks, and folks dancing in the streets following the trucks.

People say the best time to stay in Sao Paulo is during holidays. They're right. Traffic is light and I get 6 days with my family. Come Thursday, everyone is back, it's time to "straighten up", and life gets back to normal...til next year.