A Brazilian woman walks among the discarded carnival statues on the work yard behind the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A Brazilian woman walks among the discarded carnival statues on the work yard behind the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A damaged carnival sculpture of a bird abandoned on the work yard behind the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A damaged carnival sculpture of a bird abandoned on the work yard behind the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A dismantled and damaged carnival float abandoned on the work yard behind the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A dismantled and damaged carnival float abandoned on the work yard behind the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A Brazilian man rests on a damaged carnival sculpture outside the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A Brazilian man rests on a damaged carnival sculpture outside the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Arms and legs of the carnival statues thrown into a pile in the Samba school warehouse in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Arms and legs of the carnival statues thrown into a pile in the Samba school warehouse in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A damaged feather costume thrown on the work yard behind the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A damaged feather costume thrown on the work yard behind the Samba school workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Carnival cemetery

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – February 2012

Most of the large carnival floats, colorful designs and fancy costumes are dismantled, cut into pieces or simply thrown into garbage right after the last day of the Carnival. The low-tech materials as fiberglass, plastic or polystyrene, which most of the of the carnival floats and statues are made of, are stocked in the warehouses to be recycled and used in the future parades. However, there is no use for some of the statues so they slowly fall apart into pieces forming a “Carnival cemetery” in the industrial yards around the port of Rio de Janeiro.

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