Friday evening marked the opening of the annual carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, with an estimated six million revelers expected to flood the city’s exuberant street parties, where troupes of musicians, percussionists, and stilt performers attract vast crowds of glitter-covered, often scantily clad partygoers, as this year’s festivities also pay tribute to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, honored with a towering 22-meter metal figure, symbolizing the three-time leader’s enduring presence over both Brazil’s political life and the streets of Rio. Gabrielle Nadler reports.