Rio Carnival: Mangueira samba school wins Published duration 10 February 2016

image copyright Reuters image caption Mangueira's samba school "drum queen",Evelin, led thousands of members of the drum section who must keep the school dancing to time to win more points

One of Rio de Janeiro's most traditional samba schools, Mangueira, has won this year's Carnival.

It was the school's 18th title, won with the help of some 4,300 participants in the sumptuous parade.

Fans of the samba school, which is rooted in Rio's Mangueira favela, screamed with joy as the results were read out.

In an indication of how high the stakes are in the carnival championship, the results came in an armoured car.

image copyright AFP image caption For its winning parade, Mangueira paid homage to Maria Bethania, one of Brazil's most loved performer of MPB - Brazilian pop music

image copyright AFP image caption Mangueira's carnival explored Maria Bethania's roots in Bahia, the state in Brazil with the strongest African cultural influence derived from the days of slavery

image copyright AP image caption Every parade is centred on a theme ranging from religious to historical topics and from politics to social issues

image copyright AP image caption The samba school wins points for the enthusiasm, performance and verve of its performers

image copyright EPA image caption Points are given also for the costumes and floats which are made in huge warehouses by the samba school members