The winners of this years’ Lord Mayors Parade brought a taste of Brazilian Samba to the city this weekend. The Liverpool Samba School walked away with the prestigious honour of having the best float in the procession which included a 40 foot shiny golden dragon accompanied by dancing maidens.
 | | The sights of the parade |
The dragon was created by Samba School founder, Roger Morris, who worked painstakingly on his masterpiece for 5 months. Roger runs the Samba school which teaches people of all ages and backgrounds how to play authentic Brazilian batucada or drums. Inspired by regular visits to Rio de Janeiro, Roger and his partner, Maeve started the school ten years ago to give people an alternative to the tired pub crawls plaguing the city, “ I noticed that there wasn’t much for people to do socially once they were past the clubbing age and I decided to create something that would bring people from all cultures and ages together to have a good time, and it works, it is truly magical “ Roger started a regular carnival themed club night at Cream and it became one of the biggest in the northwest which played Brazilian and Cuban Jazz/Funk. The Samba School has even spread its wings farther afield and performed in the Rio Carnival, something Roger thinks will create a better understanding between the two cultures. In Rio, it is common for Samba Schools and performances to put money back into local communities for much needed services like schools and clinics, he hopes to bring that sort of inspiration back to Liverpool, “ There is plenty of room for different types of carnivals here, we need to encourage more family events that include absolutely everybody, particularly in the run up to 2008, the powers that be need to sit up and take notice of us, because we’ve got a lot to give.” The Samba school meets once a week for rehearsal and is free to anyone. There is also a junior samba school for children. For more information you can log on to www.carnival.org.uk |
