Carnival's youngest queen overwhelmed by spotlight

RIO DE JANEIRO - She was cheered by legions of Carnival fans, but 7-year-old Julia Lira, the youngest drum corps queen in memory at Rio's lavish party, broke down crying upon realising she was the centre of everyone's attention.

Dressed in a sequined halter top and a miniskirt made of purple feathers, the youngster shuffled through the first 50m of the parade.

Her father - the president of the parading Viradouro samba group - then took her by the hand and presented her to the crowd. She smiled for the photographers.

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

After a five-minute cool down, 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.

Twenty minutes later, the girl bounced back and began to samba at the helm of the parade - although television coverage steered clear of showing the youngster to millions of viewers.

Before the parade began, Julia's father, Marco Lira, said that "she's happy, she is ready to dance".

But 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."

Putting Julia in the Carnival role drew the ire of child welfare advocates who were against a 7-year-old taking on a role normally reserved for sultry models and actresses.

Two weeks ago Carlos Nicodemos, director of the Rio de Janeiro state Council for the Defence of Children and Adolescents, asked a judge to keep the girl 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 the girl could join the parade, and the overwhelming response in Brazil was a shrug and acceptance.

The Uniao da Ilha samba group opened the night in front of 80,000 spectators, introduced by a massive fireworks barrage and the first beats of a 500-strong drum line.

Carnival queens wearing black feather headdresses, the tiniest of sequined outfits clinging to their sculpted bodies, incited the crowd with frenetic samba moves.

- AP