The Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro (Liesa), responsible for the parades of the 12 groups that make up the Special Group, has not yet ruled out the possibility of carrying out technical rehearsals for this year’s Carnival. The information has been confirmed to CNN by Jorge Perlingeiro, president of the entity.
According to the official, the associations are facing two difficulties at the moment: the resurfacing of the floor of the Marquês de Sapucaí lane, which is in progress. It will be the first replacement in 12 years, with replacement and expansion of the pipe for water drainage, to avoid flooding in case of rain during the presentations.
The work is expected to end between the 25th and 30th of January. Around the 15th, Perlingeiro believes he will have a more realistic scenario about the possibility of the event being held or not. The calendar will need to be reconciled with that of the 15 Serie A associations, which also parade there.
“Maybe around the 15th we will have a more defined scenario. We will need at least three weekends to carry out the technical tests. This is because the associations of the access group also use the samba catwalk and will need to rehearse. As our Carnival is on January 27th and 28th, and theirs, on January 25th and 26th, the bill is more or less like this”, he explains.
The tendency is for the Serie A associations to have one day of the weekend reserved for tests, and the Special Group to the other, if they occur.
The second difficulty mentioned by the president of Liese is related to the presence of an audience in the sambódromo during the tests. A scenario that, according to Perlingeiro, will require further evaluation.
“It will depend on how the pandemic situation is until then. New Year’s Eve, for example, would not have celebrations, but that changed and they happened. Now, in these previous weeks, public control is an issue because we will not yet have the turnstiles at the sambódromo, the infrastructure set up for the parades”, he explains.
In an online broadcast held on Tuesday night (4), Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD) canceled the performance of the blocks’ presentations on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
The decision, taken in line with the Independent Association of Street Carnival Blocks of Zona Sul, Santa Teresa and São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro City Center (Sebastiana), occurred in light of the advance of the Ômicron variant of the new coronavirus in the city.
Second survey carried out by the Agency CNN, there are at least 451 confirmed cases of the lineage in Brazil. Three of them in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.
Liesa is also considering the possibility of carrying out the general rehearsal, for light tests, without an audience.
The event will take place on February 20, a week before the start of the parades and, traditionally, takes place with only one association: the current champion. In this case, Viradouro, from Niterói, a city in the Metropolitan Region.
Reference: CNN Brasil
