Photos: Rio de Janeiro pines for its Covid-cancelled carnival
Rio de Janeiro would normally be kicking off its famed carnival now, but instead of booming drumlines, glittering floats and barely clad dancers, the Brazilian city's "Sambadrome" is hosting a Covid-19 vaccination drive this year. The pandemic forced Rio authorities to cancel carnival for the first time in 109 years, leaving the iconic beach city full of "saudades" -- a Portuguese word that roughly translates as "longing" -- for its biggest party of the year.
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Anilson Costa, a reveller of the annual block party "Ceu na Terra", walks along the Santa Teresa neighborhood where the block party used to be celebrated, as Carnival celebrations have been canceled, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 12.(Pilar Olivares / REUTERS)
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Caretaker Walel looks at parts of carnival floats from last year at samba school Imperio di Tijaca's warehouse, exactly opposite of the Sambadrome venue in Rio de Janeiro on February 13. The cancellation has left the small armies of costume designers, mechanics, choreographers, dancers and others who usually prepare the sumptuous carnival parades, out of work.(Carl De Souza / AFP)
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Marcus Vinicius Araujo, 25, wears a costume which he would have worn during the Carnival had it not been cancelled, in Rio de Janeiro on February 10. "It is a moment of understanding which we need to live. We are not celebrating Carnival now, but we are going to party from home, respecting the health security protocols and getting ready to come back on the next carnival with the usual happiness." Araujo told Reuters.(Ricardo Moraes / REUTERS)
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A set of colored lights illuminates the Marques de Sapucai avenue, known as Passarela do Samba, in Rio de Janeiro on February 12. The light show was a homage to the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro that will not perform the carnival parade due to the Coronavirus pandemic.(Andre Coelho / AFP))
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