This weekend, King Momo kicks off the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, a festivity that will paralyze all of Brazil for a week. Some 80,000 privileged people will be able to attend the Sambódromo, where the parades begin on Sunday.
"The parade of samba schools remains a place where Brazil thinks of itself," says anthropologist Mauro Cordeiro. The festival celebrates sometimes little-known black figures, traditions with African roots, and also honors indigenous communities.