I don't think I've ever looked so terrified. For about an hour, it was a total high. You can feel the sense of pride and happiness of both the paraders and the crowds by the looks on people's faces, by the interaction between the audience and the spectacle. On the tops of the floats are Brazilian celebrities and models. It's like a showcase of their own hopes and desires.
Critics say that the carnival has sold out to tourists.
I did not sense that at all. I felt it was an uncompromising celebration of Brazilianness. This did not exclude me from the party. Like many other parts of Brazilian life, the carnival fosters a communnal inclusivity you do not get in Europe. Brazil is not a country where people like to be different - perhaps because racially and socially, there is no country so diverse.