Proudly, Regina Coeli adorns herself with a spectacular crown of green and orange feathers. She prepares to parade in a “escola” in a town in the interior of Brazil, with the “luxury” material that the Rio Carnival discarded after only one use.
After the parades at the Sambadrome, every year thousands of costumes made for months by the samba schools are abandoned at the exit. In the absence of an official recycling policy, opportunists, vendors and modest groups take advantage of the situation and go on the hunt for decorations and costumes.
The “escola” of Coeli, in Capim Branco, 500 km northwest of Rio de Janeiro, was a pioneer when a decade ago they traveled for the first time to the “mecca” of carnival and filled their van with discarded garments, says its president, Maria Lúcia de Souza.
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