%headline(In Brazil, carnival pays tribute to slain councilwoman
Posted Mar 4, 2019 02:36:42 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Revelers are gathering for another round of celebrations as Brazil enters its fourth day of carnival.
One of Rio de Janeiro’s top samba schools will be paying tribute to councilwoman Marielle Franco, an activist for gays and Afro-Brazilian rights who was killed almost a year ago.
The Mangueira samba school is including Franco in a parade honour Brazil’s hidden heroes, those that history books often forget.
Other street parties taking place around the week of carnival are also paying homage to the slain politician.
Franco grew up in Rio’s Mare favela and was black and homosexual – a rarity in Brazil’s overwhelmingly white and male political spectrum.
She was shot to death on March 14 along with her driver. To date, authorities have not arrested the culprit.
The Associated Press
