China-inspired Samba Show Thrills Revelers at Brazil’s Carnival

Thousands of spectators danced and sang along to the music as a China-inspired samba show took center stage during the second and final night of the Carnival celebrations in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.

The crowd cheered wildly as the city’s 2,600member Unidos de Vila Maria samba school paraded through the Sambadrome – the avenue where competing samba schools perform.

Carnival-goers marveled at the elaborate floats paying tribute to Chinese civilization and cultural icons.

Six other samba schools took part in Saturday night’s parade, presenting a multicultural celebration of dance, music, and traditions lasting well into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Leading the Chinese-themed parade was a theatrical staging of the Monkey King, known as Sun Wukong in Chinese, a central character in the 16th-century novel Journey to the West.

The initial float featured a giant dragon and recreations of the Summer Palace, as samba dancers shimmied to the beat of Brazilian batucada and twirled traditional Chinese fans.

Drummers were dressed as Xi’an terra cotta warriors in shiny golden costumes that were brought all the way from China.

Modern China was also showcased, with a green float illuminated to evoke the high-rises and smart buildings of Shenzhen.

“I’m proud to have a samba school feature China,” said Liao Si, a Chinese teacher living in Brazil who took part in a Carnival parade for the first time.

Thomas Law, president of the Brazil-china Sociocultural Institute (Ibrachina), said, “This makes me very happy and excited. The parade depicted traditional China and modern China. I think everyone enjoyed seeing something so well done and so full of joy.”