Every summer the streets of Helsinki turn into a blur of colours, rhythms and dancing bodies as samba schools from around the country compete in the annual Helsinki Samba Carnaval. Our videographer joined the party to capture the exotic atmosphere and find out how this Brazilian tradition has settled happily up here in the far north.
The samba event, arranged in Finland, gathers in the vicinity of 20,000 spectators in downtown Helsinki. Over a thousand dancers of all ages take to the streets to show their talents and costumes under the bright northern summer sun. As the caravan wound its way through the city we met Annami Nieminen, a dancer in the samba school União da Roseira and vice member of the board of the Association of Samba Schools in Finland, to find out more about the relationship between Finns and the samba.
Finns feel the samba. Video: Gustavo Alavedra
By Gustavo Alavedra, June 2011
