Unidos da Viradouro won, this Wednesday (14), the special group of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival. This is the third title for the Niterói club, which was also champion in 2020 and 1997. The school was also runner-up in 2023.
The group was the last school to parade in Sapucaí on the second night of RJ parades, which took place on Monday (12). With the plot “Arroboboi, Dangbé”, Viradouro bet on the cult of snake voodoo as its trump card. The parade, signed by carnival artist Tarcísio Zanon, told the story of the Vodun priestesses, women chosen and initiated into rites of praise to the sacred serpent.
Second place went to Imperatriz Leopoldinense, which won last year and Grande Rio took third place.
It is worth mentioning that this Wednesday (14), the management of the Grande Rio, Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Mocidade and Beija-Flor schools sent Liesa a document asking Viradouro to be punished for a possible irregularity in its Front Committee, during the parade.
At the beginning of the investigation, he was informed by the president of Liesa, Jorge Perlingeiro, that the League accepted the appeals, will analyze the requests, and publish the result by this Thursday (15).
The schools claim that the rival had more members than allowed in the wing and the regulations foresee a loss of up to 0.5 in the group's score. However, even if the school took the penalty, it wouldn't make a difference, as it won with a difference of 0.7 compared to second place.
Determination
The counting to elect the champion samba school of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival Special Group took place this Wednesday (14). In total, twelve samba schools crossed the Marquês de Sapucaí on Sunday (11) and Monday (12) and were evaluated on nine questions, by four jurors.
The lowest grade assigned to each school in each item is discarded. At the end of the counting, the first six placed will be accredited to return to the Parade of Champions, on Saturday (17), and last placed will be demoted and will be in the Gold Series in 2025 .
In order, the items that were evaluated were: Allegories and Props, Drums, Evolution, Master Room and Flag Bearer, Front Committee, Plot, Harmony, Samba-Plot and Costumes. It is worth mentioning that the last item is essential for breaking the tie.
In the mandatory rules, timing commission, dispersion and artistic direction, no school was penalized, therefore, they all started in the counting on an equal footing.
The first question Allegories and Props It has already started with more discerning judges and some 9.6 and 9.7 scores were distributed. In the end, only three schools finished with the maximum score, they are: Grande Rio, Unidos de Vila Isabel and Unidos do Viradouro.
Battery it was the second category to be evaluated and the scores started to grow. 10 associations finished the question with the maximum score, that is, 30 points. Only Unidos do Porto da Pedra and Portela had tenths less.
The third evaluated was the Evolution , which represents the fluency of the presentation. Grande Rio, Unidos da Tijuca, Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Portela, Unidos de Vila Isabel and Unidos do Viradouro finished with top marks.
Master Room and Flag Bearer were subsequently evaluated. The pair of eight schools came out on top in this regard. Unidos da Tijuca, Portela, Unidos de Vila Isabel and Porto da Pedra had tenths less.
In Front commission only Grande Rio, Estação Primeira de Mangueira, Unidos do Tuiuti and Unidos do Viradouro came out on top in this regard.
The sixth item evaluated was Plot and again, a few tenths were deducted. Only Portela, Unidos de Vila Isabel and Unidos do Viradouro finished with 30 points. The question was a watershed and gave a boost to Viradouro, which ended up taking first place.
Harmony was subsequently evaluated. Only Academicos from Salgueiro, Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Estação Primeira de Mangueira and Unidos do Viradouro finished with top marks.
The penultimate item evaluated was Samba-Enredo. Academics from Salgueiro, Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Portela, Estação Primeira de Mangueira and Unidos do Viradouro secured 30 points.
The last question was Costumes , where four schools achieved the maximum score. Including the champion, who aced the issue with four 10s.
Gold Series
The Unidos do Porto da Pedra school was demoted to the Gold Series, after receiving the lowest grade and coming in last place in the Special Group's overall ranking.
Check out the full ranking:
- Unidos de Viradouro – 270 points
- Imperatriz Leopoldinense – 269.3 points
- Grande Rio Academics – 269.2 points
- Salgueiro Academics – 269.0 points
- Portela – 268.9 points
- Unidos de Vila Isabel – 268.8 points
- First Mangueira Station – 268.8 points
- Beija-Flor – 268.5 points
- Unidos do Tuiuti – 268.3 points
- Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel – 267.2 points
- Unidos da Tijuca – 265.7 points
- Unidos do Porto da Pedra – 264.9 points
This Tuesday (13), the São Paulo Special Group was counted, which announced Mocidade Alegre as two-time champions.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
