Children’s samba schools are the last act of Carnival 2017

After the first-division big samba schools wrap up their show Carnival 2017 isn’t over yet. On Fat Tuesday, February 28^th, some 30 thousand boys and girls will take over the Sambadrome and seek their prizes and trophys like grown-ups during the Children’s Samba Schools Parade.

The idea was created back in the 1980s when the Sambadrome was being built. It was a social and cultural project designed to assure that samba school culture would pass on to future generations. Most of them are affiliated to their “adult”correspondents, like Mangueira do Amanhã, Herdeiros da Aguia, Aprendizes do Salgueiro. There are 16 schools to parade in 2017.

Foto: Gabriel Santos | Riotur

They receive some funding from Rio’s  City Hall and a lot of material donated by the big samba schools. But what they lack in visual, they double compensate in emotion and dance.

The Children Samba Schools are also evaluated by judges in the same aspects as the big leagues and also some others like their ability to interact with the public. They are eligible to two sorts of awards. In one of them, all schools performing at the top of that category will be rewarded.

Children’s parades occur since 1984 and nowadays they have a League to organize it which includes the release of a CD with the samba-songs of the year. Check this year’s parade line-up:

1 – Miúda da Cabuçu
2 – Tijuquinha do Borel
3 – Inocentes da Caprichosos
4 – Golfinhos do Rio de Janeiro
5 – Ainda Existem Crianças de Vila Kennedy
6 – Império do Futuro
7 – Corações Unidos do Ciep
8 – Filhos da Águia
9 – Pimpolhos da Grande Rio
10 – Mangueira do Amanhã
11 – Estrelinha da Mocidade
12 – Aprendizes do Salgueiro
13 – Petizes da Penha
14 – Herdeiros da Vila
15 – Nova Geração do Estácio
16 – Infantes do Lins