Rio's Carnival kicks off; city gears up for 5 days of fun
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ― The five days of over-the-最高の，を越す parades and raucous, alcohol-soaked street parties that （不足などを）補う Rio de Janeiro's world-famous Carnival 祝賀s kicked off Friday まっただ中に a 最近の 雪崩／（抗議などの）殺到 of bad news, 含むing more 証拠 of Brazil's 立ち往生させるing economy, an 現在進行中の 干ばつ and a snowballing 汚職 スキャンダル at 明言する／公表する-run oil 巨大（な） Petrobras.
In the 年次の 儀式 that 示すs the 公式の／役人 start of the festivities, Rio 市長 Eduardo Paes 手渡すd over the 重要なs of the city to King Momo, the mythical jester who 統治するs over the extravaganza. Musicians from Unidos da Tijuca, the samba group that won last year's flamboyant parade 競争, played a medley of the samba classics that （不足などを）補う the city's tried and true Carnival soundtrack as a few ダンサーs showed off their fancy footwork.
Paes 定評のある that times are 堅い, but 示唆するd Carnival would 代表する a welcome 一時的休止，執行延期.
The 2015 Carnival King, King Momo, Wilson Dias da Costa Neto, left, and the Carnival Queen Clara Paixao, gesture at a 儀式 場内取引員／株価 the 公式の／役人 start of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
"We have lots of problems, lots of challenges and lots of defects," he said, "but we are very proud to live in a city like Rio de Janeiro."
Paes said the festivities were sure to bring more than a welcome dose of fun: More than 450 street parties were 推定する／予想するd to bring an 概算の 975,000 tourists out の上に the streets. The 訪問者s are 推定する／予想するd to 注入する around $780 million into the 地元の economy, he said.
Still, many 居住（者）s complain that the "blocos," popular street parties, snarl traffic, 生成する トンs of litter and 一般に 複雑にする daily life, 特に in areas such as Ipanema and Copacabana. Both beachside 近隣s are 震源地s of the "blocos," which are 献身的な to everything from Michael Jackson to 最高の Mario Brothers and see revelers dress up to dance, sing, parade and 負かす／撃墜する prodigious 量s of beer under the scorching sun.
With the 汚職 スキャンダル at Petrobras making headlines daily for the past year, 石油-主題d Carnival 衣装s were 推定する／予想するd to 証明する の中で this year's most popular. A Rio-based mask company has been churning out rubber masks of Maria das Gracas Foster, the Petrobras 大統領，／社長 who 辞職するd earlier this month.
Carnival is 抱擁する not only in Rio, but across Brazil, with fam ous 祝賀s in the northeastern cities of Salvador and Olinda attracting tourists by the tens of thousands. However, with the southeast in the throes of the worst 干ばつ in 80 years, some smaller cities in the 地域の have had to 捨てる their Carnival festivities altogether.
Carnival 包むs up on Wednesday, に引き続いて Rio's all-night-long samba group parades at the city's Sambadrome, where thousands of musicians, sequin and feather-覆う？ samba ダンサーs and 衣装d revelers compete for the 肩書を与える of the year's 最高の，を越す group.
The 2015 Carnival King, King Momo, Wilson Dias da Costa Neto, left, 持つ／拘留するs up the 重要な of the city with Rio de Janeiro's 市長 Eduardo Paes, 中心, while the 知事 Luiz Fernando Pezao looks on behind them, and Carnival Queen Clara Paixao, 権利, applauds, at a 儀式 場内取引員／株価 the 公式の／役人 start of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The 2015 Carnival King, King Momo, Wilson Dias da Costa Neto, left, 持つ／拘留するs the 重要な of the city as the Rio de Janeiro's 市長 Eduardo Paes, 中心, and the Carnival Queen Clara Paixao, 権利, applaud at a 儀式 場内取引員／株価 the 公式の／役人 start of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A 患者 in 衣装 from the Nise de Silveira mental health 学校／設ける waits for the start of the 学校／設ける's carnival parade, coined in Portuguese: "Loucura Suburbana," or 郊外の Madness, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. 患者s, their 親族s and 労働者s from the 学校／設ける held their parade one day before the 公式の／役人 start of Carnival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
An 年輩の 患者 in 衣装 from the Nise de Silveira mental health 学校／設ける dances during the 学校／設ける's carnival parade, coined in Portuguese: "Loucura Suburbana," or 郊外の Madness, in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. 患者s, their 親族s and institut e 従業員s held their parade one day before the 公式の／役人 start of Carnival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
患者s from the Nise de Silveira mental health 学校／設ける dance in 衣装 during the 学校／設ける's carnival parade, coined in Portuguese: "Loucura Suburbana," or 郊外の Madness, in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. 患者s, their 親族s and 労働者s from the 学校／設ける held their parade one day before the 公式の／役人 start of Carnival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A 患者 from the Nise de Silveira mental health 学校／設ける wearing 直面する paint smiles to the camera during the 学校／設ける's carnival parade, coined in Portuguese: "Loucura Suburbana," or 郊外の Madness, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. 患者s, 親族s and 労働者s of the 学校／設ける held their parade one day before the 公式の／役人 start of Carnival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
