Northern countries IV: Helsinki Karnavalesco

Back in Helsinki on Saturday, June 17th, I was in time for the 16th annual Helsinki Samba Carnaval, which advertises itself as "the only Finnish festival listed in the Top 50 European Local Festivals in 2006." Carnaval fever could already be perceived on the Viking Line cruise ship, on which at least one of the samba crews was traveling. In the first photo, you can see a cavaquinho player, a Brazilian, just arrived from Stockholm; the Helsinki Cathedral is in the distance.
And it was in front of the Cathedral, in Senate Square, beneath the watchful eyes of the statue of Tsar Alendander II (modern Helsinki was built during the Tsarist 19th century), that the blond--the very, very blond--samba schools prepared for the big afternoon carnaval parade (for all the authentic and repetitive sambas de enredo that were sung--in Finnish--and for all the surdos and reco-recos, this still was not Rio de Janeiro). Enjoy the photos as must as the sambistas enjoyed shaking the foundations of the universe!