For the samba lovers responsible for what Brazilians call the greatest show on earth, it was a time of uncharacteristic seclusion and pain. Costume-makers, percussionists and composers lost their lives and loved ones as Covid-19 decimated Rio’s carnival community, and forced its rollicking annual parades to be cancelled for the first time since the 1930s.
“It was tough. Our social networks became one big obituary,” said Marquinho Marino, the carnival director at Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel, one of Rio’s top samba schools. Marino thought no group had lost more members to Covid. “I lost count at 59,” said the samba chief – who nearly joined the list himself. He fell ill in May 2020 as Brazil’s death toll soared, and ended up in intensive care, while his pregnant wife waited desperately at home for news.
