MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil carnival kicks off; Pte Lula to attend Parades in Rio

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will become on Sunday the country's first president in the last 15 years to attend one of the samba-school parades at the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro, the main event of the festival, his office confirmed.

The head of state will attend the parades that begin Sunday night at the Sambodrome and will return to Brasilia before dawn Monday, according to the schedule announced Friday. No Brazilian president has attended this event since 1994, when Itamar Franco watched the parades in the Sambodrome on a night that provoked a certain amount of criticism. The reason was that he was photographed in the box for distinguished visitors accompanied by model Lilian Ramos, who wore no underwear at the time and won notoriety for baring her all beside the head of state. According to press reports, Lula wants to see the parade of the Beija-Flor samba school, the current Carnival of Rio trichampion and his favorite group. The same reports said that the president might also be at the Sambodrome wedding of singer Neguinho da Beija-Flor, a mainstay of the group. The parade of the samba schools of the Special Group of Rio de Janeiro is considered the main event of the Rio Carnival and one of the greatest outdoor displays of artistry in the world. The 12 participating groups vying to be crowned champion this year will be on parade Sunday and Monday nights. The schools, each with an average of 5,000 people, interpret their various themes with breathtaking displays of music, dance, lights and color that continue until dawn on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Each school presents a freely chosen theme that it then stages in the Sambodrome with music, floats, costumes and dancers