Topless controversy takes center stage at Rio's Carnival

March 6, 2000
Web posted at: 9:47 p.m. EST (0247 GMT)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) -- Rio de Janeiro woke up Monday hungry for more controversy on the final day of the world famous Carnival parades after the first samba schools whet the city's appetite with an abundance of topless muses.

Many of the bare-breasted women dancing down the Sambadrome runway Sunday represented plumed Indian princesses, who dominated the colorful floats as the schools honored this year's theme -- the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Portuguese explorers in Brazil.

But one sculptural dancer who dared to paint the Brazilian flag on her nude body was the focal point of both the crowd and the police, who were going to apprehend the woman before she threw on a shirt.

"It was an homage to the flag at a time when we are celebrating Brazil's 500 years," an irritated Angela Bismarck told TV Globo Monday morning.

The topless craze -- which has swept Carnival the same year that Rio women won the right to sunbathe without bikini tops -- even spread to the spectators as women in one of the VIP boxes casually removed their shirts.

"I think it's great that everyone shows everything," said Brazil's most international fashion designer Ocimar Versolato. "Besides, with the 500 years of Brazil theme, it is completely appropriate."

The decision to center the festivities on the anniversary of the Portuguese arrival on April 22, 1500, also meant that some schools used religious icons on the floats -- prompting a big protest from the Roman Catholic Church.

Unidos da Tijuca, the first of the seven schools to parade Monday, hits the runway with plenty of advance publicity after wrestling with the church over a giant cross and a painting of the Virgin Mary on its floats.

Acting upon the request of the city's archdiocese, police confiscated the religious props, but Unidos won a court order to get them back. It is not yet known if the school will have them on full display Monday.

"This was marvelous publicity for the school," said Gilson Martins, who leads one of the school's 30 dancing sections. "But, really, how were we supposed to talk about the discovery of Brazil and not depict the first Mass celebrated in the country?"

Many of the schools are adding fuel to the flames with references to torture, corruption and censorship in Brazil's history. The Caprichosos de Pilares school had a naked dancer painted with red whip marks hanging upside down on a float that depicted a 1964-1985 dictatorship.

One of the perennial favorites, the Mangueira school, will tell the story of the black population's fight for freedom from slavery, while another front-runner for the 2000 title, Beija Flor, is expected to act out a rape of a black woman by four white men.

Mocidade Independente skirted controversy Sunday, but virtually guaranteed a place in the top finishers with a futuristic opening float full of suspended contortionists that received the most applause during the all-night event.

Judges evaluate the 14 schools for 10 aspects, including song, floats, costumes, drum section and coordination of the thousands of dancers. The winner will be decided on Wednesday, when Brazil's biggest and most expensive pre-Lenten celebration officially ends.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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