A reveler dressed as Ganesha, a Hindu deity, center, watches the "Ceu na Terra" or "Heaven on Earth" Carnival street party in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s Carnival revelry is ramping up, from the raucous street parties to the glitzy parades.

Carnival kicked off Friday afternoon, with Saturday marking the first full day of the pre-Lenten festivities. Stay with The Associated Press throughout the day as our photographers and reporters bring you into the merry madness.

Here’s the latest:

Who let the dogs out?

For almost two decades, hundreds of dogs in the upscale Barra da Tijuca region in Rio de Janeiro have wagged their tails to samba music at the Blocao Carnival street party. They did it once again on Saturday, but with a big improvisation due to the city’s very hot weather.

About 300 people brought their pets dressed in costumes, ranging from superheroes to cartoon characters and clowns. And then the dogs socialized under the shadow. The decision to avoid the hot pavement was to prevent paws from getting scorched.

The name Blocao is a mixture of “bloco,” which means Carnival street party, and “cao,” or dog in Portuguese.

“It is great to see this interaction between pets and families. It is a lot of joy and it is good for everyone. It is a different kind of Carnival,” said nurse Priscila dos Santos Silva, 42, who took Sol, her Chihuahua, dressed as a doll to the party.

'It is a mission'

A roar of joy rose from a sea of sweaty, scantily-dressed revelers as one of Rio de Janeiro’s most traditional street parties, know as Heaven on Earth, kicked off just before 7.30 a.m. local time in the bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa.

This year, the group made up of percussionists, wind instruments and stilt performers was paying homage to Rita Lee, a much loved Brazilian singer and songwriter who died in 2023. A puppet of Rita Lee had a red guitar with a sticker which said “without amnesty”, a reference to the charges Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro is facing over allegation of plotting a coup d’état.

“Our repertoire is greatly made of traditional old Carnival songs,” said Pericles Monteiro, the founder of Heaven on Earth. “We also pay tributes to Brazilian music artists, every year there's a different one. It is a mission. We want to bring some of the paradise to our Earth. We need it badly to get some peace, respect.”

Friends of the Jagu

ar

One of Saturday’s popular early-morning street parties is Friends of the Jaguar, on a beach looking across the water at Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf Mountain. Thousands of revelers are here, all decked out in leopard- and jaguar-print clothing.

Marina Caetano, 39, has only missed Friends of the Jaguar once in the past 11 years, because she was hospitalized — and still she dreamed of checking herself out.

“It’s marvelous. The best street party. The energy, the people, the music,” Caetano said. “I have love for this party.”

The party features a band of saxophones, trombones and drums trailed by a truckload of speakers to spread their sound far and wide. And the choreographed dancers, “the jaguarettes,” crawl about and paw playfully like large felines, with elaborate make-up to match.

“It’s a space that allows us to express a lot of artistry,” said dancer Dandara Abreu, 36. “It allows our freedom of expression.”

Sao Paulo parades

Sao Paulo’s samba school parades started Friday evening, bringing thousands to the city’s Sambadrome.

The city’s top schools celebrated Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous traditions and honored some of the country’s most beloved musicians, including Cazuza, Toquinho and poet Vinícius de Moraes.

Samba school Academicos do Tatuape presented its parade about social injustice and the fight for equal rights, inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. The group’s theme for the year is a famous quote from the civil rights leader: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Parades of Sao Paulo's premier parade league finish tonight, and Rio de Janeiro’s top samba schools will start Sunday evening.

— Gabriela Sá Pessoa

Partying nuns

Also on Friday afternoon, one of Rio’s most traditional street parties, Carmelitas, took hold on the bohemian hilltop neighborhood of Santa Teresa.

The area is home to the Carmelites Convent, which explains the party's customary garb: Many of its revelers came dressed as nuns and priests.

Some in the party paid tribute to Pope Francis, who remains hospitalized in Rome with double pneumonia.

The Key to Carnival

Rio de Janeiro’s mayor handed over the key to the city to its Carnival monarch on Friday, opening King Momo’s symbolic five-day reign over the festivities.

“Don’t call me. Call King Momo until Ash Wednesday comes,” Mayor Eduardo Paes, wearing shorts and a Panama hat, told Carnival revelers as drummers and veteran members of local samba schools celebrated and sang traditional songs. “You should come for this guy. He’s going to be in charge of the whole thing.”

Momo’s tenure is symbolic of society being turned upside down during Carnival. His role is inspired by Greek mythology. Momus is the personification of satire, mockery and irreverence.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025