For the second year in a row, and the second time in almost a century, Rio de Janeiro’s top samba schools’ Carnival parade is not happening in ​the month of ​February, when it usually takes place.

Last year it was canceled altogether and this year it has been postponed to late April due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ​But that doesn’t mean there’s no fun to be had.

CGTN’s Lucrecia Franco reports that a scale​d down version kicked off Saturday and continues Sunday.