South African flavour to Brazil’s Carnival

However, the most famous carnival is that of Rio De Janeiro. Thousands of people throng the Sambodromo stadium in the city. Often wearing masks and colourful costumes, they dance to the beats of drums and music, Samba being the most prevalent form of dancing here. A major parade with beautifully dressed samba dancers atop a decorated moving vehicle goes through the stadium as hundreds of people keep joining the parade as the parade makes its way. 

We had a group of volunteer agents visiting us this year from a big Brazilian agency – and they are all Brazilian. We spent an afternoon at our Athlone Children’s Home and celebrated our own South Africa meet Brazil Carnival. 

It was extremely festive, colourful and full of joy and smiles. We got all the kids to make and decorate their own masks, all while we were teaching the Brazilians the art of the Djembe drum. Its great how you can bring 2 countries together who love to celebrate, dance and share their passions.

The kids had an absolute blast, their care givers told us they had no problem getting them into bed that night :)!

A BIG thank you to the Brazilian counselors for sharing our Carnival with us.