That year, with money to burn, I thought I would finally get to live out my bucket list and get to suit up and dance in the Sampa sambadromo, the outdoor arena where samba schools parade, dance and sing, dressed like parrots or Indians.

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The shooting happened at what is known as a second-line parade - an impromptu community procession in which people dance down the street behind the official parade.

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The festival peaks on Whitsunday (19 May) with a street parade, which features colourful dance groups from Korea and Japan, trucks blaring music from Brazil and Angola, plus Irish folk, Jamaican dancehall, Caribbean soca and more.

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The event was a "second-line parade, " a traditional celebration in New Orleans in which people listen to music and dance in the streets.

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