Carnival King (King Momo)
"Momo" is the name of the god of mockery in the Greek mythology, and according to Carnival tradition, King Momo should be jolly and as big as a house. Legend suggests that he was expelled from the Olympus to come and settle down in Rio, the City of Carnival. The Rio Carnival officially opens with the delivery of the key of the city to King Momo. When King Momo sambas, everything and everyone - sequins, feathers, flesh and all people around should also samba with him. He opens all major Carnival events including the Samba Parades.
Queen and Princesses of Carnival
The Queen of Carnival is chosen by a contest based on her beauty, self-assurance, sociability, ease of expression, congeniality and samba abilities but all in all she must have the "carnival spirit". The 2nd and the 3rd place candidates in the contest are named the Princesses of Carnival.
Carnival Designer
He is responsible for the artistic work of designing, producing and directing the school's parade. Sometimes they chose and write the schools' theme of the year, too. They design every costume and float, choose and supervise the purchasing of materials, administer the construction and manufacturing of floats, costumes, and accessories. They can earn a lot of money in a top school. The names of the top carnival designers are as well known in Rio as the names of top film directors. They have their own idiosyncratic style, some being known for being very futuristic (Salgueiro), baroque/rococo (Imperatriz, Mangueira), or have a special preference for a particular topic (like Beija-Flor´s for anything native Brazilian-Indian).
Wing
They are the building blocks of a school's parade - the school is split into several of them. A group of 20-100 people wearing the same costume and having the same purpose. The costume will illustrate a particular aspect of the school's theme. Every wing has a president who is responsible for the costumes (production and sales) and coordination of all the wing´s members' parade.
Vanguard Group
This is the opening wing of a school. A group of 12-15 dancers with a highly choreographed routine, who parade at the front of the school, "introducing" it to the crowd. Their costumes do not have to reflect the school´s theme. Originally they were only well-dressed men. Recently they have become a spectacle on their own with splendid choreography. A float is part of this wing, too carrying the School's symbols along with some celebrities wearing the most elaborate costumes.
The Flag Carrying Couple
She is carrying and presenting the school's flag, as the symbol of the School, while the couple is dancing down the Avenue. He is there to protect her (originally he had a knife to make sure that the other schools are not damaging the flag, making them lose the competition). Their dance is the most elaborate and elegant. The schools have more than a couple of flag bearers but only the front bearer (in front of the drummer group) is important and can gain scores.
Whirling Ladies (Baianas)
Older women are dressed in glitzy variations of the traditional costume of Bahia state, with huge skirts with tubes inserted inside so that they lend themselves for some beautiful whirling. Whirling down the Avenue, they represent the soul of the samba schools, their African roots. There is a minimum number that must parade or the school gets penalty points (at least 80 in the First League (Special Group)). They are old ladies of the community, who have already been with the same School for many years like the samba dancers. This is an absolute honor and the samba school pays for their costumes. They are much respected and often get a round of applause when passing by. Today only women can have this role while in earlier years men dressed in those costumes, too.
Some schools (like Beija-Flor, Grande Rio, Salgueiro, etc.) also have wings of little Baianas, young girls in their teens.
Percussion Band (Bateria)
This is the beating heart of the School comprised of 250-350 percussionists, mainly drummers. It lends energy and life to the whole parade. This is a community wing, thus the costumes are paid for by the school. The Head of the Drummer Group chooses who is going to play in the group via continuous auditions at rehearsals many months before Carnival. The group's costumes that reflect the themes are sometimes so big that it's hard to play. There are overhead mikes carried alongside the group and a sound truck with the samba singers.
Some are traditional ones, using the same elements for decades (like Mangueira, Portela and Imperio Serrano). In the 80s, Mocidade however brought along some new elements for their drummers in the rhythm they played. Inevitably, other schools (like Viradouro, Grande Rio, Porto da Pedra and Beija-Flor) started using further innovation incorporating totally new genres (going as far as using funk and. high choreography). It seems to be very successful.
Vocalists
They are well-known male lead vocalists who are accompanied by many others. They are usually on top of the sound truck right behind the percussionists, or they march along the samba runway.
Queen of the Drummers
This is a beautiful female samba dancer standing in front while introducing the Percussionists to the crowd. She is supposed to motivate and inspire the hundreds of male drummers behind her.
Samba Dancers
A small wing of the finest samba dancers of the school is no more than 15-20. It's very hard to dance the samba at Rio´s speed whilst moving forward at a near walking pace for 700m (1/2 mile). These samba dancers are a star turn. They are chosen through competition each year and it is certainly high honor to take this role.Source: rio-carnival.net
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