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Preta Gil did it again! It wasn’t enough to bring together about 200 000 people at Orla de Ipanema in the 2011 Carnival with her Bloco da Preta. This Sunday, she went even further, believe it or not. This time, the singer got 250,000 revelers to the streets of downtown Rio. There were so many people, that as the Trio Elétrico started the route at Avenida Rio Branco, you could see that the crowd went all the way to Aterro do Flamengo. It was crazy!

* At the top of the sound truck, a very lively group: in addition to Fernanda Paes Leme, voted Muse of Block da Preta, and Fernando Torquatto, the male Muse, Carolina Dieckmann, the Godmother, and Sheron Menezes, Miss Congeniality, it was possible to see Benedita Casé and her boyfriend, João Januário, and on the floor, a lot of other familiar faces.

* At the sound of the mix that only Preta can cook up – from funk to axé, through marches, sambas-enredo and Brazilian country music – the gang only stopped dancing when they went by the site of the landslides at 13 de Maio Street, near Theatro Municipal. There, the singer asked for a minute of silence and started a prayer for the victims. Very moving!

* After many hours and hours on top of the Trio Elétrico, Preta, the queen of the street carnival in Rio, was very moved. "I’m happy, accomplished, touched and eternally grateful to my fans for such a demonstration of love, affection. Many thanks to the people of Rio, it’s been magical." It really has, Preta!