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On Friday night, September 26, 2009 the new Rei Momo, Queen and princesses were chosen at the carnival entertainment complex Rio Samba City.
Milton Rodrigues is King Momo 2009! The 29 years old bank clerk had previously finished as close as 2nd and 3rd to the title. Last year's King, Alex de Oliveira who has been Momo for 10 Carnivals, at first weighed 476 lbs, and in his 2007 reign he slimmed down and was 187 lbs. He also liked to speak about the importance of a healthy lifestyle which traditionally has not been associated with the Carnaval spirit of indulgence.
Jéssica Maia is the 2009 Carnival queen. For the last seven years she has been parading Portela.
Milton Rodrigues who weighs 286 Ibs and is 6' tall, would love to have an illustrious career like King Alex but everything begins with a first step. The new King Momo has been a member of Beija-Flor Samba School and is now a director of children dancers for Portela Samba School. The King is also a friend of the new 2009 Queen from their association with the Portela Samba School.
Also part of the Royal 2009 Court will be princesses, Shayene Cesario Vieira, ranked second and Charlene Valnice da Costa, in third. To win the title, queen, king momo and princesses had to show samba in the foot, kindness, beauty, resourcefulness and very spirit carnavalesco for a judging committee included like the standard-bearer of the samba school Beija-Flor, Selminha and Smile dancer, Carlinhos de Jesus.
The competition has been sponsored by the Mayor of Rio since 1972 and produced by Riotur.King Momo and Queen were crowned by the Director of Operations of Riotur, Bruno Mattos. The princess Shayene received the track from the hands of the president of Riotur, Bonilha Luis Felipe, who was part of the judging committee. It a great traditional, open enrollment by all.At the end of the presentation, the former princess of Carnaval 2007, Jacqueline Nascimento, who died in July this year, as a result of a car accident, was honored by the organizers of the event.
Besides the titles, the winners have gotten prize money: 12.000,00 Reais for the King and Queen, 9.000,00 Reais for the first Princess, and 8.000,00 Reais for the second Princess. The Second and third places of King Momo have got 1.500,00 Reais each one.
Playboy Magazine to feature Carnaval Queen 2009 Jessica Maia
In December Brazilian Playboy magazine announced that the Rio de Janeiro 2009 Carnival Queen Jessica Maia will be its new cover girl. This is the first time a Rio Carnival Queen has been invited to pose and star in the cover of the prestigious magazine. In Brazil, Playboy magazine is the pinnacle of achievement for those who aspire to be recognized for their beauty and poise
Rei Momo Finalists:
1. Jaci Assis Gabi 2. Renato Lima Prazeres 3. Leandro Veiga Aciolly 4. Wagner de Andrade Pereira 5. Fábio Rosa de Oliveira 6. Jeferson Rodrigues de Souza 7. Milton Rodrigues da Silva Júnior 8. Marcelo Guimarães Torreão 9. Mário Alexandre Coelho dos Santos 10. Jair José Pereira Ribeiro
Finalistas 2009 Rainha do Carnaval: 1. Charlene Valnice da Costa 2. Chayene Cesário Vieira 3. Lívia da Silva Moura 4. Natália dos Santos Norbert 5. Luana Cristina 6. Danielle Batista de Brito 7. Michele Cristina Soares Pereira 8. Luciana Conceição da Silva 9. Érika Pereira Monteiro 10. Cyntia Jaciara Paixão de Oliveira 11. Clara Cristina Paixão de Oliveira 12. Jéssica Maia de Freitas
2009 Carnaval Queen Jessica Maia
Jessica Maia [25 years old] the 2009 Rio Carnaval Queen from the Portela Samba School became the first Queen asked to grace the cover of the famous magazine held as the highest badge of honor by a muse of Carnaval. Queen Jéssica is a professional samba dance teacher and model, who will return to Panamá after the Brazilian Carnival is over.
Riotur & the Mayor kick off the 5 days of Carnaval
Carnaval Friday, February 20th, 2009
RioTur provides information on the city of Rio de Janeiro and operates a number of offices and kiosks around town. At Rio's International Airport (tel. 021/2298-2245), you will find a booth in the international arrivals hall of Terminal 1, open daily from 6am to noon and one in the international arrivals hall of Terminal 2, open daily from 6am to noon and 5 to 11pm. There's also a booth in the domestic arrivals hall, open from 6am to noon and 5 to 11pm. People arriving at Rio's main bus station, Rodoviaria Novo Rio, can pick up information in the arrivals area, from 8am to 8pm (tel. 021/2263-4857). The main Riotur Information Center (tel. 021/2541-7522) is located on Av. Princesa Isabel 183, Copacabana. Open Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm, this office has the largest selection of brochures and information. This office also operates an information phone line, Alô Rio (tel. 021/2542-8080), with English speaking staff. They can be reached Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm.
A must-have is Riotur's Rio Incomparavel booklet, published every 3 months. This guide in both English and Portuguese lists all tourist attractions, events, festivals, many useful phone numbers, and contact information. In addition to this booklet, Riotur also publishes a number of brochures specifically on outdoor sports, museums, and Carnaval. The office in Copacabana is most likely to stock all these publications.
The state of Rio de Janeiro offers tourist information for destinations outside of the city. TurisRio can be reached at tel. 021/2544-7992; www.turisrio.rj.gov.br. The office is located at Rua da Ajuda 5, 6th and 12th floors, Centro, open Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm.
1:00 The Mayor will presents the symbolic Key to the City to King Momo for 5 days of misrule beyond ordinary time and Space in the sprawling Carnival center known as Samba City [www.cidadedosambarj.com.br ].
This event, produced by Riotur has been changing times and locations of late and in 2009 will feature not only the new Mayor elected in December of 2008 but also the first Rio de Janeiro Queen of Carnaval scheduled to grace the cover of Playboy magazine.
13.00 Opening Ceremony - the Carnival King (Momo) is crowned by the city mayor and receives the city´s keys
19.00 Children´s Samba Schools Parade at the Sambodrome. The Schools may have as many as 2000 members and come from throughout the state to present their samba school best as they sing and dance their way down the magical avenue. These are made up as traditional samba schools with o floats, passistas, a mestre-sala and porta-bandeira, a percussion band, baianas...
The sambadrome has an open-doors policy for Carnaval Friday so admission is free.
