Rio Carnival  pays tribute to Panama

The  World-famed Rio Carnival  had its first Panamanian delegation on  Saturday night, March 2   and in the Sambadrome,  The Estácio de Sá samba school,   assembled  3,000  participants and three giant floats to  celebrate  the Isthmus and  its traditions, the country’s  flowers, butterflies  coffee and  the Black Christ of Portobello  with an allegory titled “Faith Emerges from the Waters” and the expansion of the Panama Canal.

The Estacio de Sá school is the top samba school in Brazil and several times has been named champion of the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro.

Among the Panamanian personalities who took part in the paraded were soccer star Blas Pérez, who wore the National team shirt Miss Panama, and Miss Universe contestant, Rosa  Montezuma,  singers Erika Ender, of Brazilian origin, and the santeña Margarita Henríquez, who obtained the third place in the recently concluded Festival of Viña del Mar and Afrodisíaco, internationally recognized group and winner of the Viña del Mar Festival, and actors Ludwik Tapia and Óscar Díaz.