Lent excess before Lent begins. Some of the most famous are the Carnival of Barranquilla, the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Carnival of Venice, Cologne Carnival, the New Orleans Mardi Gras, the Rio de Janeiro carnival, and the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. The day immediately preceding Lent is variously called Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday"), Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday. Sometimes, it is the peak of the pre-Lenten festival, while sometimes it is largely occupied with preparations for Lent. The observances vary from culture to culture, and even from town to town. Originally, in Lebanon and Syria, the last Thursday
Madureira, Rio de Janeiro Madureira, Rio de Janeiro Madureira is a neighborhood in the North Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its population is basically middle class and lower middle-class, including some shanty towns, (favelas). The suburb is the hub to several bus lines that reach several parts of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The suburb is famous for being home of the samba schools Portela and Império Serrano, two of the most traditional samba schools of Rio de Janeiro. The suburb borders other suburbs such as Cascadura, Cavalcanti, Vaz Lobo, Engenheiro Leal, Turiaçu, Campinho and Oswaldo Cruz, and it