São Paulo’s Court of Carnaval for 2015
Note from BW of Brazil: Well you know that the Carnaval season is in full swing when the Court of Carnaval is crowned and, like every year, that’s exactly what happened last night in São Paulo! Of course, anyone who lives in Brazil is already familiar with the event, but for those of you who are unfamiliar with the yearly crowning, there is a method to what appears to be sheer madness! Here is a brief breakdown of the festivities.
The corte real or Royal Court is the name given to the Carnival procession, composed of Rei Momo (King Momo), the rainha (queen) and princesas (princesses) of Carnival. Conducted in Brazil, in different forms, it’s organized into a contest, by Carnaval leagues and public institutions, linked to tourism, such as Riotur.
Rei Momo is considered the owner of Carnival, who commands the revelry and having a jovial, delirious and sarcastic personality. Coming from Greek mythology, he is the son of sleep and night, being expelled from Olympus because for fun he made fun of the other deities. He was chosen to decide which God among Zeus, Athena and Poseidom could do something good. But he put defects in all the creations.
Today there is competition for the selection of Rei Momo in several cities in Brazil with the most reported being the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro. To be Rei Momo it’s necessary to be very friendly, have an air of joy, and weigh at least 120 kilos (264.5 lbs). The latter requirement has been abandoned in recent years, considering the health problems caused by obesity and in 2004 a slim candidate ended up being elected Rei Momo, due to weight change by the organizers.
Queen and Princesses
Courting the revelry, along with Rei Momo, the princesses are the lower level, some of them after their reign become queens or madrinhas de bateria (godmothers of the drumbeat), as well as some queens or madrinhas that become carnival queens and princesses of Carnaval. In some places, queens and princesses also parade at the same time as the rainha or madrinha. Source
Note from BW of Brazil: The SP court was chosen last night and in the photos below we present the winning court as well as the competitors for queen and princesses.
São Paulo has new members of the Court of Carnival 2015
The Election of the Court of Carnival 2015 took place on the evening of Friday, January 9, with a sellout crowd at the Grande Auditório do Palácio das Convenções do Anhembi (Grand Auditorium of the Conventions of Anhembi) , and defined new representatives of the São Paulo revelry.
In a very close race, Valter Pinto, better known as Brigadeiro, was elected Rei (King) Momo after the his seventh participation in the contest. Among the girls, the new crowned Queen was was Pitylla Theba, who participated for the first time as well as the First Princess, Katia Salles, and the Second Princess, Cintia Mello, who had been princess in the 2012 edition.
All participants were evaluated by the following requirements: communication, sympathy, dancing the samba no pé and elegance. The girls were also judged on body aesthetics.
They joined yet the Cidadão Samba Liberto Solano Trindade of the Vai-Vai samba school, and Cidadã Samba Maria Aparecida Dias, known as Dona Nena, of the agremiação (association) Brinco da Marquesa. Both were chosen by the União das Escolas de Samba Paulistanas (Uesp or Union of São Paulo Samba Schools) in the previous event.
As every year, those elected to the Court of Carnival receive cash prizes and, for this edition, the values increased: Rei Momo and the Queen receive R$20,000 each, the 1st Princess R$15,000, 2nd Princess R$ 14,000, and the Cidadão and Cidadã Samba take R$8,000 each in recognition.
Check out the profile of winners:
King Momo: Valter Pinto, 38, security guard, 144 kg (317.5 lbs)
Queen: Theba Pitylla Ferreira da Rocha, 30, dancer, 1.63 m (5’5 1/2)
1st Princess: Katia Cristina Ferreira Salles, 29, production assistant, 1.75 m (5’10”)
2nd Princess: Cintia Cristina de Mello, 27, dancer, 1.70 m (5’8″)
Participations
All choreography of candidates for the Court of Carnival was created by choreographer Ismael Toledo, who has done the artistic part of dance in three other editions of the Court. He specializes in Hip Hop dance and Latin rhythms, studied styles such as classical ballet, jazz, tap, African dance and also teaches courses in Brazil and abroad.
The event was presented by the master of ceremonies Adriana Lessa, an actress who also has participated in the event in previous years. At the end of the entry of all the candidates, singer Wilson Simoninha made a special presentation for the event at the break to make announcements.
Source: SP Turis
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