in rio's carnaval, blocos de embalo are all street parties that are not blocos de enredo, and that do not follow the rules or requirements of other specific classes of carnival blocks such as the afro or the blocos das piranhas.

blocos de embalo are extremely popular in rio de janeiro, so much that they gather hundreds of partygoers who fill the streets with music and revelry. 

the word 'embalo' loosely translates as 'momentum', and in fact the mission of many of these smaller street parades is to open or close the period of carnaval.

blocos de embalo are usually scheduled to play before the blocos de enredo.