Flesh and fantasy take over Brazil's carnival

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) — Brazil's traditional carnival parades, those extravagant displays of flesh and fantasy set to a samba rhythm, were to hit their peak late Sunday with a glitzy show in Rio de Janeiro in front of a sold-out crowd.

Half of the city's 12 top samba schools were to unveil their colorful entries to stands packed with 50,000 people, and with a worldwide television audience looking on.

The other six schools were to get their turn Monday night, when the parades were to conclude.

Excitement has been building ahead of the Rio event, which has come to symbolize Brazil's version of carnival, traditionally a pre-Lent period of indulgence taken to extremes by this South American nation.

The celebration, which has its roots in Christian rites...