Plus-size Brazilian women taking lead roles in Rio Carnival's samba schoolsb. Plus-size women have always been a part of Rio's famed samba schools - groups of dancers, choreographers and other individuals who compete in Carnival with their elaborate floats, costumes and dance routines. But until recently they had not been able to take on the role of scantily clad "passistas" elite samba dancers because those spots had been reserved for women who met traditional beauty standards. Instead, they were covered from head to foot and relegated to sections of the parades in which their bodies were not on display. Joyful, flamboyant and brimming with self-esteem, year-old Renata da Silva Angelo is a plus-size woman who is upending the beauty paradigms of the Rio Carnival with her role as an elite samba dancer. Like Da Silva, hundreds of other women who carry a few extra kilos also have refused to accept discrimination and, with the backing of the "Plus no samba RJ" collective, have been showing off their moves - and their curves - at Brazil's biggest party. English edition Outstanding. Content providers.
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Carnival obsession
Samantha Mortner always thought she would end up leaving London at some point, being "a real wimp" in the cold weather. But 12 years ago, as the director of a PR agency in west London, she could hardly have pictured herself like this: wearing a bikini woven with 12, tiny stones and a headdress with pheasant feathers, dressed up as Yemanja, the goddess of the sea, revered to by Afro-Brazilian religions. The Londoner was chosen to be the muse of one of Rio de Janeiro's samba schools, leading out its first float at the Sambadrome - the world-famous carnival strip. The year-old, now known as Samantha Flores after her first marriage, has been living in Rio since But at the Imperio da Tijuca samba school, she's best known as "musa gringa" the first non-Brazilian dancer to take a lead role at "the biggest party on earth". As the schools muse, Ms Flores enters the wide Carnival strip on her own to summon in the first float, cheered on by thousands of people on the stands, and performing quick and gracious samba moves to set the tone for the minute-show - keeping the energy going all along the way. Being accepted as a foreigner on this stage is no small feat. Brazilians are proud of carnival and highly demanding with samba. Dancing the style properly is not easy even for locals. But in the closely-knit communities of Rio's samba schools, many learn the moves from a young age, and dance with stunning ease.
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We are really being regarded as objects. The sensuality and the bodily aspect that are intrinsic to the dancers, they are not bad by themselves. Viviane explained that female dancers have to deal with this kind of prejudice both at dancing schools and in everyday life, and that she has been approached to become a prostitute on numerous occasions.
During Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term " carnival ", from carnelevare , "to remove literally, "raise" meat. Rhythm, participation, and costumes vary from one region of Brazil to another. Those official parades are meant to be watched by the public, while minor parades blocos allowing public participation can be found in other cities, like Belo Horizonte , [3] also in the southeastern region.