The parades opened with a tribute to Lula da Silva, but the Sapucaà avenue also featured tributes to Rita Lee, Ney Matogrosso, and figures from the history of Carnival and Brazil. Winners will be announced this Wednesday. More than 35,000 people passed through the Marquês de Sapucaà avenue in Rio de Janeiro between the night of Sunday, February 15th, and the early morning of Wednesday, February 18th, during the parades of the 12 samba schools in the special group. An event that generates more than 970 million euros for the city's economy, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism. (📸 Getty Images)