São Paulo – Samba school Império da Casa Verde performed its Lebanon-themed 2020 parade on Thursday (22) before the community of Lebanese expatriates and descendants in Brazil, at an event highlighting the Carnaval at São Paulo’s Clube Atlético Monte Líbano.
The festive evening (pictured above) featured an amalgamation of Lebanese festivities and Brazilian Carnaval, featuring percussionists and Arab musicians, female Arab folk and samba dancers. In attendance were Lebanese businesspersons, Império da Casa Verde percussion section queen Valeska Reis and recently announced godmother Theba Pitylla, and other guests.
“It’s the fulfilling of a dream for the Lebanese community to be able to bring a bit of the joy and culture of Lebanese people into the biggest popular festivity in Brazil,” an Império da Casa Verde press release quoted event hosts, journalist Beto Saad and businessman Miled Khoury – the liaisons between the samba school and the Lebanese community – as saying.
Theme song Marhaba Lubnãn – Arabic for ‘Hello, Lebanon’ – was made public in early June. Early into this year, the samba school’s parade designer Flávio Campello travelled to Lebanon to do research. The school then briefed its composers, who produced twelve songs. Five of them were shortlisted into the semifinals. The winner will be announced in September.
Império da Casa Verde is slated to parade at the São Paulo Sambadrome at 5 am on February 21, 2020.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
