The strength of black women and a snake cult from Africa: these were the themes of the samba school “Unidos do Viradouro”. You impressed the jury with your parade through the Sambodrome in Rio and won this year.
The “Unidos do Viradouro” won the competition as the best samba school in Brazil with their parade in the Sambodrome. It is the third title overall for the school from Rio’s twin city Niterói. Last year she was narrowly inferior.
As with figure skating, a jury awarded grades in nine different categories such as costumes, harmony and action. During their appearance, the “Unidos do Viradouro” honored the strength of black women and presented the cult of snakes, which has its origins in voodoo in the West African country of Benin and is a religion there.
Millions in front of the television
The twelve top schools paraded through the Samba Stadium on Sunday and Monday with exotic costumes, spectacular floats and innovative lighting effects until early in the morning. On Friday and Saturday, the schools in the promotion class performed in two groups.
This year’s highlights included acts that commemorated the personalities, cultural traditions and stories of the Afro-Brazilian population in different ways. One parade told the story of palm oil, while another honored Brazil’s street vendors.
Tens of thousands in the stands and boxes, as well as millions in front of the television in Brazil and around the world, usually watch the parades on the oversized catwalk. On Saturday, the six best-placed samba schools will parade through the Sambodrome one last time. Brazil’s superstar Anitta is also scheduled to appear there beforehand.