Julia Lira, Rio's seven-year-old Carnival drum corps queen, didn't like one bit of the cameras that honed in on her as she led a lavish samba parade, and reacted as any child might — by having a good cry.
But the sprite of a samba dancer did her best to brush away the tears, and after a few minutes of holding her mom's hand and resting in the arms of a doting official from her Viradouro samba group, she returned in front of the crowd to dance early yesterday.
The samba parades — which pit 12 top-tier groups against one another in a competition that is closely watched by millions throughout the country — began on Sunday evening and didn't stop until the sun rose yesterday after six groups paraded. The final six were to go before the cheering crowds of 80,000 in a specially designed stadium last night.
Dressed in a sequined halter top and a miniskirt made of purple feathers, young Julia tentatively stepped through the first 45m of the parade. Her father — the president of Viradouro — then took her by the hand and presented her to the crowd.
She smiled big for the photographers and adoring fans.
But 10 minutes into the group's presentation and surrounded by dozens of photographers and TV cameras, the youngster broke down in tears and was immediately scooped into the arms of her unofficial handler, the group's spokeswoman Joice Hurtado, and taken away from the attention.
After a five-minute cooldown, Julia returned to her place in front of the group's massive drum line, but was quickly whisked through the parade grounds by her father and out of the media's eye.
“She just got scared after having all those cameras thrust in her face,” Hurtado said after the parade. “After we got her into her mother's arms, she quickly calmed down and put on a great show.”
While Julia bounced back and began to samba at the helm of the parade, TV coverage steered clear of showing any more shots of her.
Some in the audience thought she was not ready for the spotlight.
“She is too young to be a drum corps queen,” said Marister Deniz, 60, who was watching from the stands. “A girl that size shouldn't be thrust in such a role.”
But Jorge Elias Souza, a member of the Viradouro drum corps, said he was proud of the girl regardless.
“She is the embodiment of all the love in our school. Normally a famous person is the drum corps queen, but her father is our president and she is the center of our family,” he said.
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