Aline Prado, Globo TVs symbol of Carnaval in a photo session: “I’m used to the nudity”

Afro Brazilian women
Aline Prado: Carnaval’s Globeleza girl (more photos here and here)
 
Thunder and lightning announced that the photo shoot precedes a storm in downtown Rio. It doesn’t take many clicks before the rain comes. Aline Prado, who is known as Globeleza (combination of the words Globo and “beleza” meaning beauty), the Globo TV’s symbol of Carnival, do not lose any of the rhythm in her hips. “It’s raining? Let’s do this. Just not to get too wet, OK?” jokes the 26 year-old who has been invades Brazilian TVs in her painted body in commercial clips at the beginning of every year.
 
 
Aline begins preparations for Carnival clips in August. “We prepare the design, photo, makeup that lasts about 22 hours. I’m used to it, it’s tiring and laborious in a certain measure. But as long as it brings me pleasure, I’ll keep doing it,” she says. It’s fitting that the mulata opens two days of parades of the Grupo Especial do Rio, always ahead of the first Samba school. The marathon parades always take place at the Marquis de Sapucaí  (1) during Carnival season. “I’m only off in the winter,” she says.


“On the TV screen, in the midst of these people /We’ll see each other on Globo”
 
 

The life of the Globeleza is no different from the life of any woman her age. Eight years ago, she was a dancer and paraded in front commission of the Salgueiro Samba school, when she was invited to audition for the role of muse of TV Globo, replacing the ever popular Valéria Valenssa. “I thought they wanted a mulatona (big butt mulata), I never paraded as a dancer. It was a pleasant surprise,” she recalls. People recognize her on the street, even with a lot of clothes. “One day at the supermarket, I heard the announcer on the microphone: ‘Come, come, come.’ I wanted to hide, I’m shy,” she says. What is difficult to imagine is that with her perfect body and big smile, she has ever received a “no” from some suitor. But it’s true. “I want to know the lucky girl who has never been disregarded.”

 
 
The exclusive photo shoot for Quem magazine, which began in Cinelândia Square (2), scene of traditional street blocos (3) of the city, then need to be stopped for a few moments. It’s the rain that gives no respite. The dawn is coming now. And Globeleza? From a futuristic look, to something that looks more Rio, to a more summer look, to something that shows more body. And the pillars of the Museu de Arte Moderna (Museum of Modern Art), nearby, serve as the location for this monument of a woman.
 
“Come to be happy / I’m on the air, I’m beautiful.”
 
People pass by, stop and look. Aline, who was never shy about getting naked on TV, smiles. “A dancer enters the aisle and changes clothes there, I’m used to the nudity. I feel quite comfortable, I never felt any embarrassment,” she says. Even not having embarrassment, she says that posing nude is not in her plans right now. “I’ve received invitations, but not yet, simply because I thought it wasn’t the time. But I won’t say never.” (4)
 
 
Her family always supported her, and boyfriends, no jealousy. Speaking of the ideal man, she doesn’t have one. Only one requirement. “He has to make me laugh and be easy going.” Aline, who has a degree in journalism (5), wants to start a family, but there’s no hurry. “I want children, but I never thought that this would be at age 20,” she says.

Aline as the mulata da Globeleza
 

The shoot ends as does the rain. Aline ends the photo session without getting wet. But even without rain, as the Globeleza, Aline is accustomed to being showered by confetti. During Carnival there’s no umbrella that gets in the way of so much joy. So let the rain come down.

Note from BW of Brazil: To get an idea of what is seen in millions of Brazilian homes numerous times per day during Carnaval season, here is a short clip of Aline in a vinheta from 2011.

Source: Revista Quem

Notes

1. The Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí or simply Sambadrome is a parade area located in downtown Rio de Janeiro where samba school competitions occur every year during Rio’s Carnival.

2. Cinelândia is the popular name of a major public square in the centre of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its official name is Praça Floriano Peixoto, in honour of the second president of Brazil, Floriano Peixoto. Source: Wiki

3. Pageant groups that paraded through city avenues performing on instruments and dancing. Today they are known as blocos (blocks), consisting of a group of people who dress in costumes or special t-shirts with themes and/or logos. Blocos are generally associated with particular neighborhoods; they include both a percussion or music group and an entourage of revellers. They eventually became the “fathers” of what we today know as the famous and world wide samba-schools in Brazil. Source: Wiki. Also see our article on the racial politics involving blocos during Carnaval in Salvador, Bahia, in Brazil’s northeast here

4. Although black women are sometimes featured in Brazil’s male entertainment magazines, they are rarely featured on the covers of these magazines, particularly well-known brands such as Playboy.

5. Although Carnaval girls are usually thought to be all body and no brains, a good percentage of these women also pursue and secure educational endeavors. More here.

About Marques Travae 3747 Articles
Marques Travae. For more on the creator and editor of BLACK WOMEN OF BRAZIL, see the interview here.

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