there's no doubt that the samba school parades are the postcard of the carnival festivities in rio de janeiro, yet, some would argue that rio's street block parties are their actual heart and soul.

intimately connected to the neighborhoods where they are established, the blocks ('blocos' in portuguese), are less formal in organization than the samba schools, and their purpose is generally non-competitive, and very different.

they devote most of their efforts in organizing the street parties that fill rio de janeiro's lanes with people for the whole duration of the carnival, and some can become really grand.

in 2012, the cordão da bola preta (cordon of the black ball), gathered over two million revelers in the center of the city, thus becoming the largest carnival block in the world.