First All-female Samba School to Compete in Brazil's Carnival
2023-02-18
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1In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Carnival is back.
2The Carnival is a week-long celebration marking the beginning of the Easter season in the Catholic church.
3Brazil's federal government expects 46 million people to join the festivities that officially begin Friday and run through Feb. 22.
4It features many parades filled with music and samba dancing.
5Among them is a group from Turma da Paz de Madureira, or TPM, samba school.
6What makes TPM special is that it is the city's first all-female samba school.
7In Brazil, it is rare for women to be leaders of samba groups.
8"The big samba schools are coordinated by men, which means women are used to receiving orders," said Barbara Rigaud.
9She is the 54-year-old leader of the new TPM samba school.
10"Here, a woman can express her desires, her ideas, her opinions . . . it is empowering, " Rigaud added.
11TPM started in 2011 as a bloco, the name for musical groups that play in the streets during the Carnival season.
12Rigaud decided she wanted to take the women-only group further and compete in the city's samba leagues.
13She won approval from city officials and the school was opened last September.
14It now has 320 members.
15However, the group is still a target of insults from some men.
16Gisele Rosires is one of several TPM drummers.
17"Men look me up and down, they think I'm not capable," she said.
18She remembered her first performance with the school a year and a half ago in Madureira's park.
19A man took the instrument from her and said, "You're a woman, get out."
20In Brazil, women make up the majority of the population, but they hold few positions of leadership in government and business.
21Women won only 18 percent of Lower House seats in the National Congress and an even smaller percentage in the Senate.
22Meanwhile, sexual attack and harassment continue to happen at Carnival's street parties.
23However, over the last ten years, women have pushed back and spread the message "No means No!"
24For their first parade, on Feb. 19, TPM will honor Iansã, a female warrior of Candomblé.
25But parade rules require two men to lead the parade.
26Rigaud noted that "It has to be a man for now, until it changes, until this machismo ends."
27TPM will compete in Rio's lowest-level samba league.
28If the women perform well enough, they can climb to a higher level for next year's parade.
29Already, Rigaud wants to reach the Sambodrome, where only the top schools compete.
30"We're not here to play around," Rigaud said.
31"We're here to fight, to win."
32I'm Ashley Thompson.
1In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Carnival is back. 2The Carnival is a week-long celebration marking the beginning of the Easter season in the Catholic church. Brazil's federal government expects 46 million people to join the festivities that officially begin Friday and run through Feb. 22. 3It features many parades filled with music and samba dancing. Among them is a group from Turma da Paz de Madureira, or TPM, samba school. 4What makes TPM special is that it is the city's first all-female samba school. 5In Brazil, it is rare for women to be leaders of samba groups. 6"The big samba schools are coordinated by men, which means women are used to receiving orders," said Barbara Rigaud. She is the 54-year-old leader of the new TPM samba school. 7"Here, a woman can express her desires, her ideas, her opinions . . . it is empowering, " Rigaud added. 8TPM started in 2011 as a bloco, the name for musical groups that play in the streets during the Carnival season. Rigaud decided she wanted to take the women-only group further and compete in the city's samba leagues. She won approval from city officials and the school was opened last September. It now has 320 members. 9However, the group is still a target of insults from some men. 10Gisele Rosires is one of several TPM drummers. "Men look me up and down, they think I'm not capable," she said. She remembered her first performance with the school a year and a half ago in Madureira's park. A man took the instrument from her and said, "You're a woman, get out." 11In Brazil, women make up the majority of the population, but they hold few positions of leadership in government and business. Women won only 18 percent of Lower House seats in the National Congress and an even smaller percentage in the Senate. 12Meanwhile, sexual attack and harassment continue to happen at Carnival's street parties. However, over the last ten years, women have pushed back and spread the message "No means No!" 13For their first parade, on Feb. 19, TPM will honor Iansã, a female warrior of Candomblé. But parade rules require two men to lead the parade. Rigaud noted that "It has to be a man for now, until it changes, until this machismo ends." 14TPM will compete in Rio's lowest-level samba league. If the women perform well enough, they can climb to a higher level for next year's parade. Already, Rigaud wants to reach the Sambodrome, where only the top schools compete. 15"We're not here to play around," Rigaud said. "We're here to fight, to win." 16I'm Ashley Thompson. 17Eléonore Hughes wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 18_______________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20festivities - n. enjoyable activities at the time of a holiday or special occasion 21coordinate - v. to make arrangements so people or groups can work together 22league - n. groups or teams that compete against each other 23drummer - n. person who plays the drum, a musical instrument 24harassment - n. the action of annoying or bothering repeatedly 25machismo - n. strong and aggressive male pride 26_______________________________________________________________________ 27We want to hear from you. 28We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.