Rain and float disasters in Grupo A

An O Globo reporter is posting little updates about every fifteen minutes as the Grupo A parade progresses in the Sambodromo from Rio. Just from the series of headlines you can get the feel of of the night: the million-and-one personal dramas, tears, tragedies, and triumphs that is Carnaval.

8:24pm - Estacio's dance group having problems in the gathering area
(with just a few minutes to go and the bateria well into the warm-up, the costumes for the dance group (which dance at the VERY BEGINNING of the parade) - still hadn't arrived! The dancers were in tears. The costumes were stuck in traffic somewhere.)

8:42pm - Girl with Down syndrome is Estacio's Princess of the Bateria

8:48pm - Light show of Estacio's first float fails to work

8:56pm - Estacio has a float that exudes perfume all over the Avenida

9:07pm - Estacio's flag-bearer falls ill, faints at the end of the parade
[She also let her flag get wrapped around the pole - a big no-no - right in front of a judges' booth. Poor girl.]

9:15pm - Everyone in grandstands is singing Uniao da Ilha's samba
[Sectors 1, 3 & 5 began singing Ilha's classic song while Estacio was still parading!)

9:21pm - Estacio's parade didn't thrill the public

9:30pm - Uniao da Ilha's dance group is dressed as seahorses

9:44pm - Uniao da Ilha draws an ovation from the public

10:08pm - Uniao da Ilha's reprise of the song "E Hoje O Dia" makes the public dance

10:11pm - Academicos do Cubango's queen of the bateria is parading seven months pregnant

10:21pm - Man falls from grandstand

10:23pm - Uniao da Ilha having difficulty getting their last float off the parade route

10:44pm - Fifth float of Academicos do Cubango having difficulties at the start of the parade route

10:56pm - Academicos do Cubango's floats are still having problems
(the 4th float started having mysterious problems with its "queijos" - I know this can't mean cheeses! - whatever queijos are, it reportedly was terrifying to the girls who were riding on top of the float)

11:03pm - Man who fell from grandstand suffered light injuries

11:19pm - Girl falls off of float of Academicos do Cubango
(she fell off of one of the twisty queijos, whatever they are! poor thing! )

11:39pm - After a parade full of problems, Cubango will have to fight to avoid being sent down

11:42pm - It's started to rain
(always bad news for the fragile costumes & feathers)

11:55pm - Man who fell from grandstand has been released from hospital

12:15pm - The tripod motor of Lins Imperial's dance group breaks down
(I don't know why the dance group had a motorized tripod, but everybody had to push it)

12:24pm - Lins Imperial float breaks down and the escola loses time
(took five minutes to get the float moving again)

12:26pm - Man who fell from grandstand is identified

12:31pm - Lins Imperial goes five minutes over the allowed time
(ohhhh... damn that float!)

12:58pm - Float of Imperio da Tijuca breaks down in the gathering-area

1:24am - Imperio da Tijuca having trouble with its floats
(the first float caught fire! It was the crown that is the symbol of the escola. Firefighters had to climb up it. On the second float, a statue of King Dom Joao lots its right arm. On the fourth float, the giant sculpture of Dom Joao on horseback had some kind of catastrophe that resulted in the horse wearing just a pair of arms, and the broken body of Dom Joao lying on the ground. People on the float were crying. )

1:42am - Caprichosos de Pilares is betting on its floats

2:46am - Capriochosos de Pilares in the fight for the title

2:51am - Queen of the bateria of Caprichosos de Pilares falls ill

2:58am - Santa Cruz parading with good parade flow and singing

3:05am - Fire in the first float disrupts Santa Cruz's parade
(yow, that's two float fires in one night!)

3:27am - Santa Cruz doesn't thrill the public

3:36am - Santa Cruz does a good parade, but doesn't thrill

4:02am - Despite rain, Renascer de Jacarepagua does a good parade

4:35am - Renascer de Jacarepagua is hurrying to finish in time

4:40am - Academicos da Rochina is parading with "luxo" (luxury, rich ornamentation)


More updates as they come in.

Meanwhile - I've been watching Sao Paulo's parades on satellite TV. My favorite costume so far was the bateria of X-9 dressed as emperor penguins! For their global-warming theme. Rah for their theme, too.