Hi Rick;
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>AFAIK the only thing that even comes close to Brazilian Carnival here in the United States is the Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans, as you already know. I have not been to New Orleans myself, but I have been to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and would say that it is a truly amazing event, the "mother of all street parties".

Yes.. that's truth.. But, I was imagining on how all those cultural events have been initiated..

The Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans had all the influence of French people.. In Brazil we have a multi-cultural influence under ours shoulders (Netherland, French, Portugal, African, etc..) That started all that "fiesta´s spirit"

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>For anyone who's interested and cannot see it in person, I would highly recommend the film Black Orpheus (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0053146), which does a fine job of conveying the feelings, sights, and sounds of Carnival.
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Good film..