Rio de Janeiro's samba schools vie for title

The all-night-long parade saw six top-tier samba schools deploy powerful percussion sections, larger-than-life floats and battalions of nearly nude samba dancers.

Tens of thousands of people watched the dance parades from the bleachers and swanky VIP stands inside the Sambadrome, while millions more caught the spectacle via television.

Tragedy overshadowed Carnival festivities in Brazil's port city of Santos, where a fire on a float killed four people and injured five others early Tuesday.

A fire department official in Santos said the float caught fire shortly after the Sangue Jovem samba school ended its parade at dawn, killing three people who were pushing the float and a woman watching the parade. Witnesses said the float caught fire after striking a power line.

Results of the showcase parades in Rio, which saw 12 samba schools compete for this year's Carnival title, will be announced later this week. The winning schools from various categories will hit the Sambadrome again on Saturday for a parade of champions.

One of the oldest and most traditional samba schools, Mangueira, wowed the crowd Monday night with its parade dedicated to the central Brazilian city of Cuiaba. Thousands of dancers streamed through the Sambadrome in elaborate green and pink costumes kitted out with headdresses depicting local fauna in Cuiaba, such as ant eaters, armadillos and snakes.

Performers wearing only feather headbands, strategically draped beads and shimmering gold body paint danced atop a float embellished with glinting sculptures of Indian warriors.