4 June 2002

Paraiso brought fun and samba to the crowd lining the Mall as part of the Golden Jubilee Carnival procession.

Ale, Ed, Patricia, Juan, Karen, Sarah, Mary-Anne, Trish, Janet, Marcos, Jopet, Bruno, Karim, Marcelo, G, Ze, Rosario and Giselle all looked fabulous and were led by our Porta Bandeira, Lisa. With music which was unknown to her even as we entered Admiralty Arch, Jackie lead the Ala of Paraiso and managed to work out dance routines for everyone in the first hundred yards.

The arrangments for the Jubilee carnival parade had been given the go ahead only a few weeks before, and Paraiso had worked hard to get 70 people into costume and organised for the parade (well done David Johnson, Giselle and Patricia). We were very pleased indeed to see Quilombo parading too.

Thanks must go to everyone who took part in our parade at such short notice - for giving their time, for their patience, and for the enthusiam they all put into the day. Their energy and obvious sense of fun came across well on the BBC TV coverage which included an interview with Jopet, a shot of Henrique crying "Paraiso" as he wafted the Brazilian flag above the BBC camera, and several shots of Paraiso's dance routines.

Paraiso clearly thrilled the crowd and made a wonderful contribution to the day. Just wait until Notting Hill!