Carnaval, also called carnival, is celebrated in many places throughout South America. Carnaval, as spelled in Portuguese, is a 4-day celebration. But things started up again in 1981, and now the town is known for having one of the best old-fashioned street carnivals around. This section of BTI is mainly a guide for the Carnival held in Rio de Janeiro. The festivities in Salvador and Olinda are very interesting, but may not be appropriate for foreigners - this is because there are a lot of craziness going on that you may not approve - and, well, it’s a long way back to the hotel by foot. Even so - welcome to our page on Carnaval in Brazil and especially Rio. Watch this first clip that will show you how they film the procession of Carnaval in Rio.

It’s a street parade that will suck you in, or touch you up at the very least. Here, there are no spectators. The first festivals of Rio date back to 1723.The famous carnival parade has been going on since the 1930s. The parade starts Sunday evening and continues into early morning Monday of the celebration. Of course all the average tourist to Brazil knows about samba are the infamous strip tease antics of the Carnival queens who gyrate on the floats that parade through the streets. The parades in Rio are amazing affairs by all accounts and good seats go for hundreds of dollars.