For the first time in over 100 years, the famous street parade has been suspended. The celebration was due to be held in February and officials have not yet set a new date.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. De Souza
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Rio de Janeiro's world famous Carnival parade will not take place in February 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Thursday.
"We came to the conclusion that the event had to be postponed," said Jorge Castanheira, the president of the group that organizes the annual parades, the Independent League of Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools (LIESA).
"We just can't do it in February. The samba schools won't have the time or financial and organizational resources to be ready," he said.
Rio's Carnival, the world's biggest, attracts millions of tourists from around Brazil and the world to the beachside city each year. Rio's elite samba schools, which usually spend the entire year preparing their parades, had said in July that it would be difficult to organize next February's event if they weren't able to practice together by September.
Rio's City Hall has yet to announce a decision about the street parties that also take place across the city. The last year that Carnival was suspended was 1912, following the death of the foreign relations minister. The mayor of Rio postponed by two months all licenses for the samba schools' Carnival parties.
Brazil badly-hit by COVID-19
Brazil currently has the second-highest coronavirus death rate in the world. The country has registered 4.7 million infections and nearly 140,000 deaths.
While the spread of the virus has slowed slightly since its July peak, the numbers are still significantly higher than the global average, with nearly 30,000 new cases and 735 deaths per day over the past two weeks.
Rio de Janeiro has been the state hit second-hardest in Brazil, after Sao Paulo, the country's industrial hub.
Samba's 100-year triumph
God is Brazilian, God is samba! Brazil is celebrating a century of its most well-known musical style, and the world is dancing along. DW takes a closer look at the heartbeat of a nation.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Simon
Samba is slavery
Slaves brought to Brazil from Angola took their songs and dances with them, which they called "semba" or "sàmba." Their dances celebrated fertility, but in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, where most slaves ended up, the dances developed into an integral part of religious ceremonies. The Brazilian samba originated in Rio de Janeiro, a mixture of African and European musical traditions.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Simon
Samba by phone
The first samba, "Pelo Telefone" ("By Phone"), was officially registered on November 27, 1916, in Brazil's National Library. The carnival hit was attributed to Brazilian musician Ernesto Joaquim Maria dos Santos, known as Donga. The piano score, seen here, was written by Pixinguinha, the famous Brazilian saxophonist, singer and composer.
Image: Fundação Biblioteca Nacional
Samba is black pride
This 1925 oil painting, by well-known Brazilian artist Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, is entitled "Samba." Di Cavalcanti was seen as the leader of Brazilian Modernism, and his work expressed the self-confidence of black Brazilian art. This piece was destroyed by fire in August 2012.
Image: Emiliano Di Cavalcanti/FairUse
'Samba is a form of prayer'
Brazilian poet and diplomat Vinicius de Moraes (1913-1980) came up with perhaps one of the most beautiful definitions of samba. In "Samba da Benção," which he composed with guitarist Baden Powell, he sang: "A good samba is like a prayer. A good samba needs a bit of suffering, because suffering is always accompanied by a bit of hope."
Image: Gemeinfrei
Samba is melancholy
De Moraes was also behind the 1959 film "Orfeu Negro" ("Black Orpheus"), in which he transposed the ancient Greek drama of Orpheus and Eurydice to Rio's world-famous Carnival. The film, for which director Marcel Camus was awarded the top Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival, features music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá, a classic soundscape of samba and bossa nova.
Image: cc-by-3.0/Helmuth Ellgaard
Samba is cliche
Carmen Miranda (1909-1955) was known for her tutti-frutti hat, but it was samba that made her famous. A milliner and the daughter of Portuguese immigrants, she came to prominence with her 1929 hit "Samba não vá sim'bora" ("Samba, Please Don't Go"), before heading to Hollywood a decade later. In film and on TV, she was known as the Brazilian Bombshell.
Image: Getty Images/Keystone
Samba, more than just Carnival
Martinho da Vila, a composer, singer and devoted member of the Unidos de Vila Isabel samba school in Rio de Janeiro, is considered one of the leading figures in the samba world. His 1974 song "Canta Canta, Minha Gente" ("Sing, Sing My People") was an international hit. At the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August, he performed along with his daughters at the closing ceremony.
Image: Getty Images/R. Dias
Samba brings people together
Every Monday, musicians meet for a round of samba music at the Pedra do Sal, a historical place in the center of Rio de Janeiro. Anyone can join in, and everyone is welcome. Samba is the common cultural denominator that brings the city's inhabitants together, even if they come from different social backgrounds.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Simon
Samba is child's play
In this photo, children from Rio's poor district of Cantagalo rehearse at their samba school. The rhythms, lyrics and melodies of the famous samba schools characterize Rio's favela communities. Many children dream of a career in the samba business, making TV shows and traveling abroad.
Image: Getty Images/M. Tama
Samba is everywhere
From Brazil to the world: the global triumph of samba hasn't left Germany untouched. At the Berlin Carnival of Cultures, celebrated in the spring, Brazilian samba schools, with their supporters from different cultures and countries, are now a regular part of the parade.
