Tripatini: The Blog

An Advance Taste of Carnaval in Rio!

They've already got the party started down Rio way...

by Tripatini staff

The most famous Carnaval in the world, in Rio de Janeiro, is of course but once a year and can end up being kinda pricey to say the least, but you can get a taste of the fun (and at a fraction of the cost) beginning in August, when locals start revving their engines for next year’s mother of all parties (February 13-16) in raucous rodas da samba open to the public. One of the top so-called samba schools — and top-dog in the 2009 Carnaval — is 56-year-old Acadêmicos do Salgueiro, and a night spent in its huge hall on Rua Silva Teles in the Andaraí neighborhood is likely to be one of the highlights of your visit. Held almost every night of the week starting at 10PM (check “Quadra e Eventos” on the Salgueiro web site), it’s loud, festive fun — down a couple of caipirinhas and boogie along. Entry is a mere 15 reais (currently about US$8) for men and 10 for women, and the the first 200 ladies to show up get in free. If you happen to be around the second Sunday of any month, you might also want to consider stopping by in the afternoon for Salgueiro’s feijoada party (feijoada’s Brazil’s national dish, a bean-based stew).