Carnival Begins!

Dancing in the streets of Copacabana!

The 'blocs' were out on the streets of Rio today. They are organised groups of people from the same community or with the same musical interests who go out every year onto the streets usually led by a lorry packed with amplifiers and dancers which blasts out samba and attracts followers from all over who can range in number from several hundred through several thousand to one and a half million or more!

There will be 302 of them on the streets over the next few days and many people see them as the real carnival. One long established bloc was named part of the city's cultural heritage yesterday which shows how deeply they are valued.