Preteen samba queen breaks down at Rio Carnival

RIO DE JANEIRO - Julia Lira, Rio's 7-year-old Carnival drum corps queen, didn't like the cameras that honed in on her as she led a lavish samba parade, and reacted as any child might - by having a good cry.

But the sprite of a samba dancer did her best to brush away the tears, and after a few minutes of holding her mum's hand and resting in the arms of a doting official from her Viradouro samba group, she returned in front of the crowd to dance early yesterday.
The samba parades - which pit 12 top-tier groups against one another in a competition that is closely watched by millions throughout the country - began on Sunday evening and didn't stop until the sun rose yesterday after six groups paraded.

The final six will go before the cheering crowds of 80,000 later today (NZST) in a specially designed stadium.

Dressed in a sequinned halter top and a miniskirt made of purple feathers, young Julia tentatively stepped through the first 50 metres of the parade. Her father - the president of Viradouro - then took her by the hand and presented her to the crowd.

She smiled big for the photographers and adoring fans.

But 10 minutes into the group's presentation and surrounded by dozens of photographers and television cameramen, the youngster broke down in tears and was immediately scooped into the arms of her unofficial handler, the group's spokeswoman Joice Hurtado, and taken away from the attention.

After a five-minute cooldown, Julia returned to her place in front of the group's massive drum line, but was quickly whisked through the parade grounds by her father and out of the media's eye.

"She just got scared after having all those cameras thrust in her face," Hurtado said after the parade.

"After we got her into her mother's arms, she quickly calmed down and put on a great show."

While Julia bounced back and began to samba at the helm of the parade, television coverage steered clear of showing any more shots of her.

Some in the audience thought she was not ready for the spotlight.

"She is too young to be a drum corps queen," said Marister Deniz, 60, who was watching from the stands.

"A girl that size shouldn't be thrust in such a role."

But Jorge Elias Souza, a member of the Viradouro drum corps, said he was proud of the girl regardless.

"She is the embodiment of all the love in our school. Normally a famous person is the drum corps queen, but her father is our president and she is the centre of our family," he said.

Putting Julia in the Carnival role drew the ire of child welfare advocates who were against a young girl taking on a role normally reserved for sultry models and actresses.

Carlos Nicodemos, director of the Rio de Janeiro state Council for the Defence of Children and Adolescents, two weeks ago asked a judge to keep Julia from dancing, arguing that "what we can't allow is putting a 7-year-old girl in a role that traditionally for Carnival has a very sexual focus".

A judge ruled last week that Julia could join the parade, and the overwhelming response in Brazil was a shrug and acceptance.

Before she took to the parade ground, Rio's reigning Carnival Queen Shayene Cesario Vieira, 24, said she thought "it's cool" that Julia would participate.

"I don't remember hearing of a drum corps queen being so young," she said.

"But her dad is the president of the group and if he thinks it's OK, it's OK."

In the two weeks leading up to the Carnival parade, Marco Lira said repeatedly that he and his wife would be with Julia at all times - which they were - and they would carefully watch to make sure she doesn't get too tired during the parade.

Viradouro has a history of controversial themes. A 2008 float portrayed Hitler amid a sea of naked mannequins representing Holocaust victims. A judge banned that float from the parade.

Nicodemos has also suggested that the samba group put Julia into her role to get extra attention - a charge strongly denied by her father.

Meanwhile, Geisy Arruda is dancing proof that nowhere is transformation more achievable than in Brazil's Carnival, ripe with fantasy and metamorphosis.

The 20-year-old college student from a poor family gained worldwide attention last fall when she was expelled for wearing a miniskirt to class.

Three months and four plastic surgeries later, she will parade at the helm of a top-tier Rio de Janeiro samba group's parade float - her third high-profile spot in this year's three largest Carnival parades.

Arruda said she will parade in a "Carnivalised" version of the pink dress she wore when she was hounded out of class by cat-calling students - a piece of cloth that will show off her newly sculpted body.

"I confess, I'm a vain girl, and the changes I've made have given me the confidence I need to dance in these Carnivals," Arruda told The Associated Press.

"The entire world is looking at every part of you. They demand a lot of Brazilian women during Carnival, you have to be perfect, impeccable.

"I'm getting there," she added, "but it is a difficult level to reach."

Arruda was forced to put on a professor's white coat and was escorted from class by police on October 22 amid a hail of insults and curses from other students. Videos of the incident went viral on the internet.

The uproar caused her college to take disciplinary action - against her, not those who belittled the jovial blonde. She was expelled for what officials called provocative behaviour in a country widely known for revealing clothing.

A national outcry ensued, and Arruda was quickly reinstated.

But she never returned, saying initially that she feared for her safety. Instead she went under the wing of a few stylists and hairdressers in Sao Paulo who saw her battle as one against sexism and discrimination in Brazil's macho culture.

Arruda's physical transformation came through liposuction that removed 5 kilograms of fat from her abdominal region. Part of that fat was then injected into her face to make her cheekbones more prominent, and, this being Brazil, much of the rest was added to her rear to give it more oomph. She also had breast augmentation surgery and countless other non-surgical aesthetic treatments.

All was paid for through donations collected by her hairdresser, Arruda said.

She first danced on Saturday in Salvador in Bahia state - which vies each year with Rio for the wildest Carnival - atop a massive truck outfitted with giant speakers, wearing a low-cut, tight, white top and short grey skirt.

On Sunday she hit her native Sao Paulo for the city's parades, wearing a large, purple feather headdress and little else.

But her crowning Carnival achievement will be when she performs with the Porta da Perda samba group as Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, who faced significant hurdles during her reign as a woman who would not marry. The overall group theme is the history of clothing and what women are submitted to in the pursuit of fashion.

That Arruda is even in the limelight is a testament to the ability to recreate oneself in Brazilian society, some argue. Others counter that she is a reflection of a reality television culture in which any bizarre incident can turn someone into a celebrity.

"I totally agree with her taking complete advantage of this situation to give herself a better life," said 23-year-old Sabrina Bispo, who was getting some sun on Ipanema beach.

"She comes from a humble family, and I challenge anyone in a similar situation to say they would not do the same."

But Amanda dos Santos, 27, dismissed Arruda as a flash in the pan and said she does not seriously represent any statement against sexism in Brazil's culture.

"It's far too easy to become a celebrity in Brazil these days," she said, snacking on a sandwich in a Copacabana cafe.

"There are other prejudices that Carnival would be better to address, such as that against blacks and handicapped people."

Fernando de Barros e Silva, a columnist for the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, wrote in yesterday's edition that there was nothing wrong with the attention being paid to Arruda.

"There still exists, perhaps, the temptation to criticise the fascination of the girl and her disposable fame," he wrote.

"But why? She's not more vulgar than the media's appetite for her. She's not more frivolous than celebrity journalism and its consumers."

As the samba parades hit high gear, massive street parties continued to erupt across the city.

Tourism officials said almost 730,000 visitors arrived in Rio this year for the big party - a five per cent increase over last year.

It's the first Carnival since Rio was named as host to the 2016 Olympics, and officials have been working hard to show that the city, known for the drug-gang violence that pervades its slums, can safely host major events.

There have been few reports of violence during the party so far, though on Friday a Dutch tourist was shot while being robbed.

Hospital officials said the man underwent surgery and was in stable condition on Sunday.

- AP