Publisher's Note For one year, Alma Guillermoprieto lived in Manguiera, a village near Rio de Janeiro, to learn the ritual of samba--the sensuous song and dance marked by a rapturous beat--and to take part in Rio's renowned carnivale parade.
To the 70 million poor of Brazil, dreaming and planning for Carnival is an upside down ritual for exorcising their pain--a brilliant cultural and sexual release in which sequins are brighter than diamonds; prostitutes and pimps are queens and kings, and dancing skill is more prized than power.
Industry Reviews "[O]ne of the great books about how poor people in the Third World live." Nation - James North (07/02/2001)