Rio de Janeiro ready for carnival

Carnival in Brazil is still two weeks away. But Rio de Janeiro's revelers have already started partying.

On Saturday, thousands of partiers wearing all types of costumes thronged to the annual street festival known as Banda de Ipanema, just one of the many street processions that take over the city's neighborhoods.

This year, Banda de Ipanema decided to pay tribute to the famous Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer. Rio has some 600 zones known as "blocos", many of which have existed since the beginning of the 20th century.

On Saturday, thousands of partiers wearing all types of costumes thronged to the annual street festival known as Banda de Ipanema, just one of the many  street processions that take over the city's neighborhoods.

The main carnival parades officially start on February 13th. But the blocos begin to party long before the large samba schools go down the Sambadrome avenue.