Mardi Gras midnight before Ash Wednesday. In earlier times, parades were held on New Year's Day. Other cities famous for Mardi Gras celebrations include Rio de Janeiro; Barranquilla, Colombia; George Town, Cayman Islands; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; and Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. Carnival is an important celebration in Anglican and Catholic European nations. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the week before Ash Wednesday is called "Shrovetide", ending on Shrove Tuesday. It has its popular celebratory aspects, as well. Pancakes are a traditional food. Pancakes and related fried breads or pastries made with sugar, fat, and eggs
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