RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Nothing to say... You MUST be there! It's the better experience I had.


Salvador da Bahia!

Salvador da bahia

the samba schools parading in the sambadroma are awesome! beyond that, the block parties, balcony bar (24/7), help and lots of hotties! i still think fantasy fest is better, but this is one hell of a trip.

wow! This is the ULTIMATE party / festival, everything. Don't tell anyone, but forget about Rio de Janeiro... Salvador, Bahia is where it's at.

This is a great world party - it makes Mardi Gras look like a McDonalds play ground....

Once you've seen this, then all other parades/celebrations pale in comparison. I only wish we here in the US could more easily purchase the Best-of-Carnaval highlights of the huge escolas (samba schools). It is so difficult to purchase them. I have tried Brazilian stores and Websites and nobody has been able to help me. I would think someone out there would seize this opportunity to make this amazing live videotape available to the US and the rest of the world. I have several of them but last year I was not able to find any. I mean, not everyone can actually attend in person, and these videos EXIST, but so far no one seems to care enough to make them available to the rest of us.

What an experience... I don't even know how to begin. I spent a glorious Carnaval in Salvador, Brazil, and came out of it a different person than I went in. If you can picture the rowdiness of Mardi Gras, combined with pounding music and drums that go for 24 hours, and amazing dancing, in a breathtakingly beautiful place, then you can begin to imagine Carnaval. In the Salvador Carnaval, you are the show. You join what are called "blocos" associated with a certain band, and follow around 18 wheel trucks as they roll through the city with the band playing on top. Everyone in your bloco is wearing the same thing, and the streets are lined with millions of cheering and dancing people. Unbelievable.