La Florida Chic: gasparilla parade

Tuesday

Brazil LOVES Obama, Safe Sex and Older Women

Brazil's annual four-day Bacchan festivities, CARNIVAL, is over tonight - the day before ASH Wednesday, when people are supposed to give up stuff they love - drugs, food, children - who knows.

Anyway, the Brazilians created this ubber-party to compensate for the delicious bubblegum they will foresake for the next long period of time. The tomfooolery in Brazil gets pretty wild, here are some highlights:

Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, threw condoms to the crowd (both racy and totally practical) in an effort to promote his AIDS awareness campaign:

Carnival Queen, Viviane Castro, body painted President Obama on her mostly un-clothed body (she is wearing sandals). Nice.

Departing from their usual youth-obsessed view of beauty, according to the Associated Press, two Brazilian schools chose women in their 40s as "Samba Queens" to lead high-profile parades during Carnival. You know WE love this!!!!

Avast Landlubbers! Drunkarilla!!!

The pirates invaded Tampa this past weekend as about 400,000 people watched from the streets of Bayshore and downtown. The Gasparilla Day Parade - a long-held Tampa tradition - attracts people from all over the country looking for a good time and, of course, beads. Oh yes, the much-coveted beads which send hundreds of otherwise rational men and women into tailspins - prompting them to knock over small children and bear their breasts for a shot at a strand of plastic pearls, all in the name of Jose Gaspar and a helluva fun time!!