(MENAFN- AFP) Dancers -- some nearly naked, others in elaborate costumes -- strutted into the final round of the Rio Carnival's samba championship Monday, capping a wild party that has helped Brazilians forget about Zika and other worries.
The Vila Isabel samba school went first in the final group of six, with dancers parading in feather headdresses and shining, barely-there costumes, along with floats that included a collection of car-sized cattle skulls and a two-story bronze baby.
Parades were set to go through the whole night, the climax of a carnival season estimated to attract five million people. On Sunday night, the other six finalists had their chance.
A champion samba school will be announced Wednesday, closing an event that calls itself "the greatest show on Earth."
Monday night, some 70,000 fans cheered, sang and shook their hips in the stands of Rio's purpose-built dancing stadium, the Sambadrome, as the competing ensembles passed in a blur of feathers, glitter and flesh.
The performances are famous for their joy and energy, but success at this level depends just as much on the near military organization.
The choreography for several thousand performers, costumes and the floats, the samba music and the crucial role played by batteries of several hundred drummers present a huge logistical challenge.
"We have almost 5,000 people involved and the main thing is that everyone has the same goal and no one does anything just for themselves," said Leonardo Sardou, 34, one of the float directors.
- Forgetting their worries -
The outpouring of color, pounding drums, and samba dancing helped the crowds put aside worries over the Zika virus and the country's deep recession.
Fear of catching the Zika virus from mosquitoes has become a national obsession in Brazil after a rash of babies born to infected mothers were found to have severe brain and skull defects.
Scientists have raised the alarm level with suggestions that saliva and blood could possibly transmit the virus.
US health authorities say they have confirmed a case of Zika transmission in Texas through sexual contact.
But at the Rio Carnival, partygoers were determined not to let Zika spoil the fun.
Many said they were using insect repellent -- a seemingly sensible step with so much skin exposed at the open air event.
However, there were limits to how much they were prepared to stress.
"I use repellant, but the truth is that Brazilians couldn't give a hoot about Zika. It's Carnival. We have hot blood and after the fifth beer, no one remembers Zika," said Marilene Borba, 67, who was watching the parades.
This year, hard economic times have hurt the Carnival industry, denting sponsorship and raising the prices of imported fabrics used to make costumes. In 48 Brazilian cities, celebrations were cancelled altogether.
But Lucas Fernandes, a 17-year-old drummer, said he lived for this chance to parade in the Sambadrome.
"The Rio de Janeiro Carnival is something magical," said Fernandes, who practiced twice a week for 10 months to be ready.
"Although Brazil is a country with problems, the Carnival brings us happiness."
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