Rio's Carnival spectacle lures foreign paraders

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 16 (Reuters) A samba singer's war cry pierces the tropical night, rockets roar, drums roll and 4,000 troupe members in glittering costumes swing into the spotlights of the Sambodrome parade avenue.

Joining in the swaying sea of feathers and sumptuous floats are dozens of foreigners. For these tourists, merely watching the world's most spectacular Carnival show is not enough -- they want to be part of it.

''It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience,'' said Kirsi Salo, 28, from Helsinki who has paraded with friends in the Porta do Pedra samba troupe.

Despite daily violence as drugs gangsters, militias and police fight for supremacy in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, security within the Sambodrome is tight and has not stopped the flow of tourists.

Finland has the second largest number of samba schools outside Brazil, and every June stages a Samba Carnival parade in Helsinki. Japan has the most.

Some foreigners play in the huge percussion bands, whose pounding rhythms send adrenaline surging through paraders and spectators.

''I've been practicing lots with the Vila Isabel band ...

they're awesome,'' said Mashu Miyazawa, 36, from Tokyo.

He said that a Brazilian friend who founded a samba school in Tokyo taught him to play the caixa de guerra, the samba snare drum.

More than 80 per cent of those parading for Vila Isabel are poor local people who receive their costumes free. Others, mostly Brazilians, pay about 150 400 dollars.

''It's becoming very expensive but it's worth it,'' said Anne Laure Tourvieille, 41, who is parading with friends for the second year running.

The most sumptuous costumes for prime positions perched on top of the floats can cost around 2,150 dollars. But the most eye-catching paraders wear little more than glitter paint, high heels and a dazzling smile.

Paraders order their costumes off the Internet. The 13 premier league schools each have their own Web site showing colored photos of the costumes for each section of the parade, illustrating different aspects of the school's parade theme.

Foreign tourists who do not understand Portuguese can use Internet to find costumes, liaise with section presidents, provide samba song music and lyrics and spectator tickets if required.

Top-price box tickets on Febuary. 18-19 fetch over 600 dollars, while the cheapest tickets provided by the web service are around 90 dollars. It's a sell-out.

Englishman Mark Carter will parade for the first time on his 39th birthday on Monday in the Salgueiro samba school. ''We decided over dinner with friends and a few drinks,'' he said.

Despite paying some 280 dollars for his African costume, he said it is cheaper than his seat in the box stand last year.

Vanica Royster, who is organizing an American Society group of 25 to parade with Salgueiro, said that you don't have to be a samba expert, just go with the flow.

''Go there, be happy, sing even if you don't know what the words are,'' she said.

Some samba schools are more flexible than others in accepting foreigners whose lack of samba and singing skills could cost vital points in the keenly fought parade contest.

''We spread the foreigners around the wings so they aren't noticed by the judges,'' said Vila Isabel's Jean Claudio, adding that most don't come to any rehearsals.

But the Finns say they prepare.

''We don't speak Portuguese but we bought the CD and learned the samba song on the beach,'' said Kirsi Salo.

REUTERS PB RN0927