Revelers of the Academicos do Salgueiro

Revelers of the Academicos do Salgueiro samba school perform at the Sambadrome during the second night of carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 7, 2011. Rio’s two nights of famously extravagant Carnival parades began late on March 6 in a burst of fireworks and to the cheers of festival goers who have been partying on the streets for days. The processions, featuring near-naked dancing queens, spectacularly imaginative floats and thousands of extras, were being held before a stadium crowd of 70,000 and an international broadcast audience. AFP PHOTO / VANDERLEI ALMEIDA (Photo credit should read VANDERLEI ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images)