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#Videocrux - Samba parades kick off Rio's carnival Samba parades kick off Rio's carnival
The Rio carnival officially kicked off in Brazil late on Sunday with the first parades by Brazil's famous samba schools.
Rio's 2010 Carnival kicks off with samba
Rio de Janeiro's 2010 Carnaval celebration is in full swing amidst soaring temperatures and a wave of optimism as Brazil's economy thrives, its president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva enjoys remarkable popularity, and the city enjoys its status as the site of the 2016 Olympics. There is controversy over a seven-year-old girl performing as the rainha da bateria ("queen of the drum section") of a major escola de samba and mayor Eduardo Paes' attempts to bring increased safety and cleanliness to a chaotic event.
Best samba schools enthrall the visitors
The festivities run officially from Feb. 13-16, although the partying starts earlier and ends later. The city claims that 2.5 million people are celebrating in the streets this year, topping an estimated two million merrymakers enjoying the long-established street Carnival up north in Salvador, Bahia.
Michael Jackson magic at Rio's carnival
The most surprising appearance -- warmly welcomed by the crowd -- was that of a Michael Jackson impersonator. The actor had some of the late entertainer's moves down, and -- it appeared -- similar plastic surgery. Eyebrows were raised, though, by the fact that he shared the float with extraterrestrials. A billboard on the back of the vehicle, next to an elongated E.T., showed a photo of the real singer, who died in June last year, with the words: "Michael lives in all the stars -- God bless him."

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