Video: Rio Carnival’s biggest street party, Cordão do Bola Preta

by Jessica Marati on

Despite a nearly unbearable early morning start time, the Cordão do Bola Preta bloco on Saturday attracted more than 2.2 million people — the most any of Rio de Janeiro‘s popular Carnival street parties has ever seen.

The party got started at 8:30 a.m. in Largo da Candelária and traveled down Avenida Rio Branco before finishing in a huge dance party in Cinelândia plaza. Most revelers were decked in outlandish costumes or outfits with the bloco‘s signature black polka dots, and more than a few were enjoying the beers, cocktails, and shots being sold and served by street vendors. From my perch in the press box, the flow of happy Brazilians from all walks of life, singing and dancing and bonding in the festivities, was awe-inspiring.

Despite the record crowds, the bloco passed nearly without incident, with police officers reporting only a handful of public urination arrests. What do you expect with all those caipirinhas?

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Check out Gadling’s full range of Rio Carnival 2012 coverage here.

VIDEO: Everyone says I love you in 15 languages

by Meg Nesterov on


In case you decided to save your Valentine’s Day celebration for this weekend, you may want to show your Valentine how worldly and well-traveled you are and find a new way to say “I love you“. Traveler and photographer Kien Lam, who previously brought us the amazing Speeding Around the World in Under 5 Minutes, has made a special romantic video to capture the essence of love around the globe. Show Your Love shows us how similar love is, no matter the country, language, or medium, incorporating 15 different languages from Arabic to Braille to Swahili in love letters, music, texts, and other creative ways to express your feelings.

Show us your love and leave us a mushy comment in your native language!

Video of the day: Bali, Indonesia

by Elizabeth Seward on

BALI, JE T’AIME! from artisland on Vimeo.

Now seems as good a time as any other to take a trip to Bali. To sprawl out on the sands and relax in the waters under the sun amid such beautiful culture certainly seems like a dream as the intensity and work load that come with every new year continues to pile. Luckily for all of us not currently embarking on a voyage to Bali, Andrew Melikov put this gorgeous ‘Postcard from Bali’ type video up on Vimeo. Complete with images of local artisans, droplets of water on blades of grass, crashing waterfalls, gentles breezes making the vegetation dance, children climbing trees and flying kites, this video effectively captures a vacation destination on film beyond the resorts wherein so many tourists find themselves confined.

Video of the Day: Splitscreen: A Love Story

by Jessica Marati on

Whether you love or hate Valentine’s Day, there’s no escaping the amorous feelings in the air today. We might as well make a contribution with today’s Video of the Day. This short film, released last summer, celebrates transcontinental love: two sets of eyes, one in New York and one in Paris, passing days with similar experiences until the moment the eyes unite (reunite?) on London‘s Golden Jubilee Bridge. Cue single tear. The video will undoubtedly tug on the heartstrings of anyone who has ever attempted a long distance relationship… or at the very least make you want to visit the three cities.

Splitscreen earned the top spot in last year’s Nokia Shorts 2011 competition, which armed a select group of filmmakers with the Nokia N8 phone and a $5,000 budget. The film was shot entirely on the N8 by a team led by filmmaker James W. Griffiths, beating out seven competitors for the top prize. They do say that love conquers all.

A story for tomorrow

by Grant Martin on

I will do little to distract from the beauty of this piece filmed throughout South America but to say that this is maybe the best travel video I’ve seen in the last year. It’s a combination of several things — the narrative is rich and well timed, the landscapes are beautiful and lush — but I think that the most important thing is the way in which it appeals to the traveler. In a way, we’re all looking for some sort of solution when we travel, and the joy and energy in this production seems to hint that there’s actually an answer somewhere out there. Personally, I’ll take this as justification to keep searching.