A lyric in Mangueira’s samba said “prophets of intolerance” were again putting nails through Jesus’ body, and the school was joined by an inter-faith group of 20 religious leaders holding a banner that read “Independent of your faith, respect should prevail.”īrazil’s most recent census found some 600,000 practitioners of Afro-Brazilian faiths - just 0.3% of the population.

One group of women with a Candomblé orixa’s name emblazoned on their skirts whirled about with a cross on their backs. Most of the school’s parade presented his story, and their song repeated one verse that inevitably prompted the crowd to join in singing: “I respect your Amen/you respect my Axé.”Īnother samba school, Mangueira, also highlighted religious intolerance at times during its parade on Sunday. He was jailed for practicing folk healing. Virgin Islands, where Zika has been reported.Ī recent Reuters poll conducted last week showed that 41 percent of 1,595 adult respondents said they were less likely to travel to Puerto Rico, Mexico or South America in the next 12 months because of Zika.Its parade this year presented the story of Joãozinho da Gomeia, a Candomblé priest from northeastern Brazil’s Bahia state who moved in 1947 to Duque de Caxias. 'I am actively trying to get pregnant with my husband, so I am a little bit concerned,' said Erica, a respondent to a Reuters/Ipsos poll from late January who said she was bitten by a mosquito that month during a trip to the U.S. Some American travelers, who were considering visiting parts of Central and South America, have canceled or delayed their trips, according to a Reuters report Monday. It was feared that the outbreak of the Zika virus would keep people away from this year's Brazil Carnival, especially in the northeastern city of Recife where the virus has been most prominent in the South American country.

Players of Brazilian soccer club Santos parade with Grande Rio samba school during the Carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Feb. Most cities that hold major carnival events in Brazil now have dedicated staging areas with stands, seating and food. Many of the original schools continue to take part today, even though a specially designed stadium became the main staging point for Rio de Janeiro's parades in 1984, taking over from traditional street performances. The modern incarnation of the carnival has been going since the 1920s, when samba schools in Brazil began to emerge. The event has been going since 1723, when Portuguese immigrants from nearby islands began throwing mud and food at one another, which often led to the event ending in fighting, according to Rio's official website.

The huge and exuberant parades are the public face of the event, with colorful and scantily clad performers from local samba schools traveling on intricately designed floats drawing the most attention. It's expected that many more will take part in the final parades and balls scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

Millions took to the streets when the festival officially started Friday and continued through the weekend. There was little that could stop people turning out for the 2016 Brazil Carnival this past weekend in Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador, not even the much-feared Zika virrus that has recently spread across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Grande rio carnival