Mardi Gras 2009: A Big Bum Trip

From Goa, India to Thessaloniki, Greece, from Berlin, Germany to
New Orleans, Louisiana,....millions of folks the world over have been
waiting all year for this Mardi Gras weekend. This is the time anything
goes, and usually does . The lines of common decency are brushed
aside to make way for the ultimate dance and float competition
in the ultimate party town, Rio De Janeiro.

Yes, in spite of all the stories of poverty in the shantytowns, the child
prostitution, drug trafficking and extreme street violence, the Rio scene
remains the funkiest on the planet.

Almost as a response to the problems mentioned above, here they
live these nights as if there's no tomorrow. Which well might be,
given the non-stop crush of human bodies against each other,
swaying and intoxicated, entranced by the hypnotic, incessant
throbbing of a thousand drums. But it's not all magic that makes this
happen. Behind the wild party scenes are many stories of hopes,
tears, frustration, dreams and manipulation by the promoters.

*From Yahoo News :
' Chosen for their looks, Samba skills and charisma, the
job of a drum queen is to dance non-stop in front of
hundreds of drummers, wearing little more than a minuscule
costume, a feathered headdress and high heels.
Traditionally the most beautiful woman in a community,
hese days most queens are actresses or models chosen
by Samba schools to get maximum publicity in the run-up
to the three-day Carnival....'

Here's Raissa de Oliveros, one Samba School Queen
who's been reigning since she was 17, which makes her
a five-year veteran now on the brink of elimination.



Raissa's toughest competition is a funky Diva
nicknamed Valesca "Big Bum" Santos,

a vocalist, dancer, Playboy model and 2009's
Mardi Gras Bum to Watch. See the Flickr collection
of pics that are totally unlike any other !