A tropical deluge soaked thousands of feather-clad dancers but it didn't dishearten the samba schools who opened the show. Despite the sweltering heat and stormy weather, millions of people turned out to watch the parade, wearing plastic ponchos to keep the water out. Over 72,000 participants took part in the parades through Rio's main streets.
"The rain doesn't bother me. In fact, it gets us going and we crank it up a notch. It was too hot anyway," Cleberson Santos, 43, told AFP.
On Sunday night, six samba schools were performing in Rio’s Sambadrome with each group crossing the 730 meter-long runway in less than 82 minutes.
"We are cariocas (Rio natives), party animals," yelled out Willian de Assis, a 30-year-old bare-chested man wearing a pink cowboy hat, tiny shorts and boots.
