Carnival: teacher-athlete who works to value civil servants will hold a marathon in Sapucaí

In her work routine, Marion Costa da Silva strives to ensure that municipal employees achieve a grade of 10 in the development category. When she is at Marquês de Sapucaí, the manager of the Employee Appreciation and Training sector, linked to the Finance and Planning Department, she has to do her best to ensure that her samba school does not lose precious points in terms of teamwork and harmony. Passionate about carnival, this year she will parade for six groups at the Sambadrome. Marion is the first interviewee in the series of reports that show the relationship between municipal employees and the largest popular festival in the country.

The civil servant is preparing for a marathon: she will parade in Viradouro and Vila Isabel; both in the Special Group; in addition to Unidos de Bangu, Lins Imperial, Vigário Geral and Império Serrano, in the Gold Series. The scary thing is that the last three schools will cross Sapucaí on the same day, Carnival Thursday (21/4). To face all this rush, Marion relies on the experience she brings from her professional and personal life. Originally, she has been a physical education teacher in the municipal school system for almost 20 years. On the other hand, as an athlete she was the Brazilian and South American champion in orienteering, a sport in which a map and compass are used to find specific points in unknown terrain. The winner is the one who completes the task in the shortest time.

– My friends ask me how I have all this energy for Carnival. I’ve been a physical education teacher my whole life, so I couldn’t get too out of shape, right? Plus, orienteering has helped me get in shape to face the parades at the Sambadrome.

But anyone who thinks that Marion thinks the parades at Sapucaí are the highlight of Carnival is mistaken. She surprises by saying that her greatest joy occurs in the period leading up to the festivities.

– The best part of Carnival is beforehand: rehearsing, meeting people, sharing experiences. Because when the parade comes, everything is so beautiful, but so fast, we fly down the Avenue. Furthermore, because it is a choreographed section, we can’t get out of character and enjoy the parade the way we would like.

In 2003, Marion passed the exam and became a physical education teacher at the Coronel José Gomes Moreira Municipal School, in Vila Kennedy, in the city's West Zone. She also worked at the Arthur da Távola Olympic Village, in Vila Isabel. However, she considers her seven-year stint at the Vicente Moretti Christian Action Municipal Special School, in Bangu, to be one of the most rewarding periods of her career.

– When you start teaching people with disabilities, you begin to understand the issue of diversity, the limits of each person and how much you need to be flexible and make adjustments in life, not just in class. When you have students with multiple disabilities, it is important to pay closer attention to the details when interacting with the children – says the teacher, who has a specialization in inclusive physical education.

The experience of so many carnivals was brought to the classroom. The employee says that she tried to use elements from the samba schools in the educational projects that were worked on with the students throughout the year.

– I used to take the theme of a certain samba school and relate it to the topic that was being studied in class. When Beija-Flor brought the theme of the novel Iracema in 2017, the choreographer taught the way the indigenous people danced and I brought that to the class. At the time, we were working with the children on the law that deals with ethnic-racial issues of blacks and indigenous people. This makes learning easier for students with disabilities. Our popular culture is very rich.

 

 

The teacher reveals that she always wanted to be a public administrator and that she has already failed twice in the selection process for Líderes Cariocas, a program by the João Goulart Foundation that identifies talents within the City of Rio, invests in their training and develops their skills. That is why she was happy when she was assigned to the Finance and Planning Department at the beginning of this year. As manager of the Employee Appreciation and Training sector, Marion intends to implement several projects.

– Everything I have achieved in life has been in a public environment. So I decided to give back what I have learned to society. I have a project that will be developed by the Education Department, called #MapaeAção, which will spread the sport of orienteering in schools. Another new development is that this year we will launch the Civil Servant Olympics, which will have four modalities. I am very motivated!

In the last carnival before the pandemic, in 2020, Marion experienced two different sensations: she was champion at Viradouro and ended up being relegated by União da Ilha do Governador. This year, she will once again wear the colors of the Niterói school in a choreographed section, in which the member has to do previously rehearsed steps and movements.

– Our wing has 150 members and comes right behind the master of ceremonies and flag bearer couple. I think we will make an impact on the fans at the Sambadrome. The choreography has been working well in the rehearsals we are doing in secret.

Another joy will be to parade in the same school as his son. Estefan Eduardo is 10 years old and is already a drummer for the Nova Geração children's schools at Estácio de Sá and Coração Unidos do Ciep, where he plays the repique. This year, he was invited by Unidos de Vila Isabel to represent Martinho da Vila during his childhood.

With the theme “There is no sadness that can withstand so much joy”, about the 1919 carnival held after the Spanish flu pandemic, Unidos do Viradouro will be the fifth samba school to enter the Avenue, next Friday (22/4), the first day of the Special Group parades. Vila Isabel will bring the theme “Sing, sing my people! The Village is Martinho's”, closing the Saturday of carnival (23/4).

 

 

Category:

• Carnival 2022
• City
• News

April 18th 2022

Appointments: Carnival City Hall of Rio teacher Sambadrome Sapucai server Viradouro