CARNAVALS divers

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Mais une polémique est venue assombrir l'atmosphère festive ...  Marcello Crivella, pasteur évangélique fraîchement élu maire de la ville, était aux abonnés absents.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Le coup d'envoi officiel était prévu en fin d'après-midi, avec la remise symbolique des clés de la ville au Roi Momo, monarque obèse et jovial qui symbolise la folie d'une des plus grandes fêtes populaires de la planète.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    La cérémonie a finalement eu lieu avec plus de deux heures et demie de retard, vers 20h30 heure locale, mais Marcello Crivella, qui goûte fort peu l'exubérance charnelle du carnaval, n'a pas honoré les fêtards de sa présence.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  L'édile a été remplacé par son adjointe à la culture, Nilcemar Nogueira, qui a justifié cette absence dérangeante en expliquant aux journalistes qu'il était resté au chevet de sa femme souffrante.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         «Où est Crivella ?», criaient certains des 70 000 spectateurs massés au Sambodrome, grand stade en forme d'avenue entourée de gradins.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Préservatifs Gratuits ...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Après la polémique, place aux défilés. Avant l'arrivée de la première école de samba, Academicos do Sossego, le rituel a cette fois été respecté à la lettre ...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Le Sambodrome a été symboliquement balayé par des éboueurs-danseurs en uniforme orange, entourés de mascottes déguisées en préservatifs géants.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Le ministère de la Santé a en effet déjà annoncé la distribution gratuite de 77 millions de «camisinhas» (littéralement "petites chemises", en portugais) dans tout le pays, qui s'apprête à vivre quatre jours de fête non-stop pour oublier la crise économique, la corruption et les problèmes de violence.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              «Le carnaval est bien plus qu'une fête. Il nous aide à sublimer pendant quelques jours les problèmes de la vie.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    C'est d'autant plus important en temps de crise, ça permet de réunir dans la rue un pays déchiré par des inégalités de toutes sortes», a expliqué à l'AFP l'humoriste Gregorio Duvivier.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Cette volonté de laisser de côté les soucis du quotidien n'empêche pas une certaine dose d'engagement politique.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            L'école de samba Imperatriz Leopoldinense a ainsi choisi pour thème de son défilé, la défense des tribus indiennes du Xingu.