Brazilian Beatles tribute takes Carnival by storm
A member of the União da Ilha do Governador samba school works on a float in Samba City, Rio de Janeiro, on February 2, 2012, during preparations for the samba schools parade.
SÃO PAULO, Brazil — In its second year, Sargento Pimenta (that's Portuguese for Sgt. Pepper), Rio's Carnival street party dedicated to all things Beatles, brought out over 60,000 revellers on Monday, according to Brazilian news site Terra.
The party, which brought out Portuguese- and English-speaking Beatles fans alike, mixed the British quartet's hits with Carnival samba beats, reported Brazilian news site R7.
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The brainchild of Gustavo Gitelman, a music lover and doctor by trade, Sargento Pimenta was full of revellers in "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" t-shirts singing along to a percussion band, according to the Associated Press. "All My Loving" became a traditional Carnival marchinha, "Hard Day's Night" had more of a Rio funk sound, and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was a samba.
Though a handful of the songs were adapted to Portuguese, most were sung in English, which thrilled local gringoes (or foreigners), since they could finally fully participate in the fun, reported the AP. Revellers even came out in full costume, choosing their favorite of the fab four to mimic.
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