Frontrunners Beija-Flor and Vila Isabel stand out on the first night

02/21/2012 - 11h26

On the first night at Rio's redesigned Sambódromo, Beija-Flor and Vila Isabel stood out.

Frontrunners.

Both had luxurious floats, carefully designed costumes, good songs and especially, the ability to surprise.

And, curiously enough, such surprises came at opposite moments of their parades.

Champion in six of the last ten years, Beija-Flor was next to last to parade and its samba sang about Maranhão. But Beija-Flor kept its greatest moment for the end. The last float referred to the theme "Ratos e Urubus" [Mice and Vultures] of 1989, with participants dressed as beggars. This time, the float had a huge bust of Joãosinho Trinta, who died last year. The audience at Sapucaí responded to the surprise with another one: instead of crying "Champion!" they sang "Joãosinho, Joãosinho!".

Vila Isabel was the last to parade and sang about Angola - and it tried to surprise everyone right at the beginning. Its front commission was one of the best in recent years, with a float simulating a savanna and participants going in and out of the woods.

Beija-Flor and Vila Isabel were the best on the first night and immediately became frontrunners.

Although not on the same level, Portela also had a good parade, paying homage to Clara Nunes. Imperatriz and Mocidade did not thrill the audience. Renascer de Jacarepaguá and Porto da Pedra did even worse and can be relegated to the second division.

Yesterday, there were high expectations for Unidos da Tijuca, to parade on the second night. São Clemente, União da Ilha, Salgueiro, Mangueira and Grande Rio also paraded.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO