Portela to portray fascination of travels and travelers at sambadrome

With the theme No voo da águia – uma viagem sem fim (“In the Flight of the Eagle – an Endless Journey”, in a literal translation), Portela is bound to show a modern and funny side to the samba school in its parade this year at the Marquês de Sapucaí sambadrome. The promise was made by Paulo Barros, one of the most renowned figures in Rio's Carnival scene and Portela's carnavalesco, as the leading Carnival artist and creative mind behind the show is referred to. “The audience can expect an excited and competitive Portela,” he says.

Portela is regarded as one of Rio's most traditional samba schools, but, as Paulo Barros says, that does not mean it is frozen in time. “Portela is traditional, but it thirsts for a victory. The school is aware it must modernize itself to achieve that goal.”

Barros, who was hired this year to develop the school's theme, had the opportunity to meet regularly with veteran artists from the so-called Velha Guarda, or old school, who many believe to resist modernity. In his view, however, their goal is simply to strive to become number one.

In the his opinion, putting on a remarkable show also depends on the performance of all of the samba school's members. “I can't say whether or not we're going to win—that doesn't depend on me alone. It depends on the 3.8 thousand people who must do their job. I don't work the magic by myself,” he notes.

The flight of the eagle

In this year's parade, the eagle—Portela's symbol—is expected to take the audience on a great and eventful journey through the history of mankind and the imagination of travelers, who are eager to face the hazards of deserts, gloomy woods and glaciers. The search for lost worlds and treasures, moved by ambition and greed, are also going to be part of the adventure. But that was all Paulo Barros was willing to reveal.

Known for springing surprises throughout his parades, Paulo Barros says he no longer cares if a secret is leaked. “I think it shows that people have nothing better to do; it spoils the fun, but that's all right, it's part of the game, we have to face up to this kind of people,” he argued, adding, “Last year someone revealed that performers in the comissão de frente [the opening segment] would hover over the abre-alas [the parade's first float]. That person was wrong, and must be somewhere still waiting for the stunt. You just have to wait and see whether or not the things people say will prove true.”

Songwriter Monarco, one of Portela's most prominent personages, gives us a short description of what the school's 3,800 members feel: “We want to see an explosive Portela. We want to turn up at the sambadrome with a beautiful eagle and see the people gasp for breath as we used to.”

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira