Each samba school that parades on the Sambódromo in the Rio Carnival parade presents a theme. All the costumes and floats as well as the samba-enredo, or theme song, revolve around that central topic.

Rio’s Independent Samba School League - Liga Independente das Escolas de Samba (Liesa) issues thousands of copies of a magazine with lyrics and a profile of each samba school for distribution at the Sambódromo.

Even though the Liesa website doesn't have an English version yet, it's easy to find lyrics and sound files online.

Carnival 2009 Lyrics and Sound Files

As of this writing, the lyrics for 2009 Carnival songs by each samba school in the Special Group are already available online, but the sound files aren't yet - they're usually posted in December.

Here's how to find the lyrics, on the same page where the sound files will be posted later:

• Go to the Liesa home page.
• On the menu to the left, click on Carnaval 2009.
• A list of options appears. Click on Sambas-Enredo.
• The names of the twelve samba schools in Grupo Especial appear. Click on each samba school for the lyrics and later, the sound file.
• Sound files usually have a link saying 'Ouça um trecho do samba clicando aqui". They're usually about a minute and a half long.
• To go to the next samba school, click again on Carnaval 2009 to the left.

Updated on Nov.5, 2008