Men dressed up as women have been part of Brazil's Carnival scene for a very long time. Even the traditional baianas,  way before samba schools  became mainstream, were originally men in charge of security - and most were experts in capoeira!

And then there's Banda de Ipanema. It all started as a celebration of something like 30 or 40 friends way back in 64 - none of them in drag... Nobody really knows when or how they joined the scene, it seems they just came to be. 

Today the three parades of Banda de Ipanema attract the largest number of drag queens of any street band in Brazil. You will run into Carmen Miranda, Snow White, Wonder Woman, Superman, the Little Mermaid... Costumes may be glamorous, bizarre, or anything in-between. The results are hilarious!

Some drags flaunt a different outfit every day, while others impersonate the same character the whole Carnival through. Some have been repeating the same costume for quite a while now. There's one that started as a rattlesnake, and a decade later looks more like a boa snake that just swallowed a baby lamb or something...

You never really know what to expect from these creatures, either. They will stop the traffic, hop on buses maybe even kiss the driver. You'd better lock the doors, or they may go right into your car to sit on your lap! Cheerful,  chubby and a little bald? They will be drawn to you like a magnet.  Enjoy the moment, ask your friends to take photos. 

Street Carnival is free, meaning you don't need to buy tickets, or anything like that. The parade is not cordoned off, there aren't any special T-shirts you need to get in. People from all over participate. Banda de Ipanema opens Carnival in Rio Saturday two weeks before the official date. It's just the excuse you needed to arrive earlier and stretch our stay. The other parades are on Carnival Saturday and Tuesday.

Click a Drag using the miniatures as a guide, or choose a theme. Our original photos come with insider's tips, and lots of local gossip.