In the “rainforest-cloaked sierra” on the edges of Rio de Janeiro, hot air balloon “fanatics” risk much to send “enormous kaleidoscopic creations into the skies”, said The Guardian. Police helicopters fly overhead to shoot the balloons down, and the balloon-makers face three years in prison, if caught.
The annual tradition of launching homemade, unmanned balloons into the skies was brought to Brazil from colonial Portugal, originally as part of festivities honouring Catholic saints. In the 1950s, it “took roots” in the working-class suburbs around Rio de Janeiro, where its popularity persists despite it now being illegal.
The unauthorised manufacture, transportation and launching of hot air balloons was banned in 1998. There are genuine safety concerns behind the ban, not least the threat of fires or explosions caused by collisions with power lines. But the ban “has done little to curb the craze”, said the paper. “There are “hundreds, perhaps thousands” of turmas (balloon crews) competing for domination of the skies.
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