In Rio, even a ban can’t keep revelers from Carnival streets

The pandemic may have disrupted Carnival plans in Rio de Janeiro for a second straight year, but revelers who have flocked to the Brazilian city for sun, sea and samba still found ways to party on Saturday.

Thousands defied an official ban on street parties by dancing, singing and mingling to the rhythm of Samba, sometimes as police looked on.

Others attended more formal events that moved indoors this year after City Hall banned “blocos,” the tightly packed street parties traditionally thronged by those who cannot or do not want to lay out for pricey tickets for the official parade at the Sambadrome — which this year has been postponed to April because Brazil is still not past the omicron wave.

“I think it’s a shame this has to happen this way,” said Tulio Brasil, a 29 year-old music marketing director who found one of the unauthorized street parties in