Salgueiro
opened Rio de Janeiro`s Carnival Samba Parade in 2006 with the microcosmos as a theme. The dead men`s party inspiration of the wings is the back included a zombie couple of porta-bandeiras and mestre-sala.
Rocinha
’s first performance with the big league was much expected, and the school tried its best to make a good impression. The torrential rain that fell during their parade did not help much, though. Rocinha will go back to the access group in 2007.
Imperatriz Leopoldinense
is known for consistently keeping one of the most technically perfect performances among all samba schools. This year the innovation was the percussion band, that interacted with the audience with halts and dance steps.
Caprichosos de Pilares
brought along twenty Tupiniquin Indians who play with the percussion band, and perform danced steps with the abre-alas. One of the floats spread around the Sambodrome the scent of chocolate: a treat to some, but a bit sickening to others. There were some blanks in-between wings, and the school was penalized.
Vila Isabel
, the fourth school, had made the headlines when its star vocalist Martinho da Vila announced he would spend Carnival away from Rio. Nevertheless the school had a remarkable performance with the theme Quizomba, partly financed by Venezuelan oil company PDVSA. The designs and a large float with Simon Bolivar were among the elements of Latinidad.
Grande Rio
portrayed the Amazon with its theme, and was quite popular with the audience. The parade was luxurious, the floats beig and attractive, but the school lost precious points for finishing to march one minute behind schedule.
Beija-Flor
had an inspired performance, and many felt that it would score winner for the fourth time in a row. The theme creatively mixed the beginning of life with the history of the sponsor city of Poços de Caldas, known for its springs of medicinal water. Floats with flowing water always have impact on the samba runway.
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