Who's who in the parade?

King Momo
“Momo” is the name of the god of mockery in Greek mythology, and according to Carnival tradition, Rei Momo is supposed to be joyful and as big as a house. Legend has it that he was expelled from Olympus to come and settle in Rio, the City of Carnival. Rio Carnival officially begins with the handing over of the city key to King Momo. This is when Rei Momo starts to samba, everything and everyone – sequins, feathers, and all the people around him must also samba with him. It opens all the major Carnival events, including the parades.

The Queen and the Princesses
The Carnival Queen is meticulously chosen for criteria such as her beauty, self-confidence, sociability, ease of expression, friendliness and skill in samba, but above all she must possess the “Carnival Spirit”. The candidates who came in second and third are crowned carnival princesses, a title created recently.

carnivalesque
He is the professional responsible for the artistic work and also for designing, producing and directing the school's parade. Sometimes they choose the theme and also develop the school plot. They design all the clothes and floats, choose and supervise the purchase of materials, manage the construction and manufacture of the floats, costumes and accessories. They can earn a lot of money in a special group school. The names of the great carnival artists in Rio de Janeiro are as well known as the great film directors. They have their own style, some because they attribute very futuristic characteristics such as: Salgueiro (baroque), Imperatriz and Mangueira (rococo); or they have a special preference for a specific theme such as Beija-Flor, which prefers to approach themes that are very Brazilian or with African roots.

alas
They are the blocks of a school parade – the school is divided into several of them. A group of 50 to 200 people wearing the same costume and with the same purpose. The costume will illustrate a particular aspect of the school's theme. Each ward has a president who is responsible for costumes (production and sales) and coordination of the parade for all ward members.

Front commission
And the wing that pulls school. It is usually made up of a group of dancers aged 12-15 with highly choreographed steps introducing the school to the crowd. Their costumes don't always reflect the school's central theme. Originally it was just the tall, strong men counting steps forward, unable to even look back. Recently, the front commission is a show in itself. They became a show about their own choreography with true splendor. Sometimes a small float forms part of this wing, also carrying school symbols, along with some celebrities wearing the most elaborate costumes.

Master Room and Flag Bearer
The name says it all, she is the school's flag bearer. They are like a symbol of the school. Master Sala is there to protect you. He originally had a knife symbolizing and simulating a defense of the school's flag to make sure the other schools wouldn't harm the flag, causing them to lose the competition. Her dance is the most elaborate and elegant of the entire parade. Schools have more than one couple, usually three, but only the first couple is judged.

baianas
Wing made up of the ladies of the school. Their costumes are flashy and traditional to the state of Bahia. They have huge wheel skirts and petticoats with tubes inserted, and at times, usually in the choruses, they spin from side to side representing the soul of the samba schools and their African roots. Each School must have at least 80 baianas, or the school loses points (in this case for the Special Group schools). They are women from the community who have been part of the School for many years. This is an absolute tribute, and the samba school crafts their costumes at no cost. They are highly respected and often start a round of applause as they pass. Currently, only women can parade in this wing. Medical assistance throughout the parade is another privilege they have. Another interesting subject is that the lines in this ward are organized by school time. Some schools such as Beija-Flor, Grande Rio and Salgueiro also have some younger women in their wing.

Drums
This is the beating heart of the school consisting of 250 to 350 percussionists. It gives energy and life to the entire parade. This is a community wing, so the costumes are paid for by the school. The drum master is the one who chooses who will play in the group through continuous rehearsals, tests, and discipline. Rehearsals begin months before Carnival. Drummers' fantasies are sometimes so big that they make playing instruments difficult. There are microphones above the drums and a sound car with samba handles. Some schools are so traditional that they use the same instruments for decades (such as Mangueira, Portela, Império Serrano). In the 80s, Mocidade brought new instruments to its drums. Inevitably, the other schools (such as Viradouro, Grande Rio, Porto da Pedra and Beija-Flor) began to use other innovations that fully incorporated the new genres (daring to use funk and highly elaborate choreography). And it looks like it worked!

Samba Handle (Singer)
Usually male, he is responsible for singing the school's samba, almost always accompanied by a group of singers. They usually come on top of the sound car right behind the drums or walk along the samba catwalk.

Queen of Drums
She is always a beautiful woman, in charge of introducing the drums to the spectators. She is responsible for motivating and inspiring the battalion of musicians who follow her along the parade.

passersby
Composed of the best samba dancers in the school – it parades with a maximum of 50 members. It is very difficult to samba to the rhythm of the samba school and at the same time move along the avenue and its 700 meters. These sambistas are always the main attraction of the school. They are chosen through a competition that takes place each year, and it is certainly a great honor to be among the best.

Harmony
Each float and each wing has a number of people dedicated to ensuring the parade runs smoothly. They are identified by wearing T-shirts that represent their ward or car. The samba school is punished if it takes too long to parade or if it parades with less time than the minimum parade time. Points are also deducted from schools in the event that empty spaces appear between wards.