A Samba Dress Can be Even More Dangerous Than…

…a big camera backpack.

Helsinki Samba Carnaval 2011 Parade…

…was held today in the hot capital.

EDIT: I’ve now posted more Helsinki Samba Carnaval 2011 parade photos.

Helsinki Samba Carnaval 2011 Fantasy Dress…

…specators favourite was The Mad Hatter while Jester became second. The more noise the audience made, the better score for the dress.

In the comments The Mad Hatter herself tells more about the dress.

Helsinki Samba Carnaval 2011 Was Opened Today…

…and since I don’t have the time to go through all the photos yet, I’ll follow a tradition and selected a photo of her like I did by a coincidence in 2010 and 2009.

I’m the last person to teach anyone samba, but the reason why it is so easy to take photos of her is that her face shows that she is having fun (or that she is a good actor ).

Us commoners will not notice if your steps are (slightly) incorrect but your face can make us like or dislike your performance very easily.

Voihan Wilson

Yesterday I asked your guesses why the man in the photo is famous in Finland. The kenyan-born Wilson Kirwa is right now more popular than ever thanks to his participation in the Finnish version of the Dancing with the Stars tv-show. He didn’t learn much dancing technique but his showman abilities carried him to a fourth place.

Normally he doesn’t dress like this but he was the carnaval king of the Helsinki samba carnaval this year. His queen Lola Wallinkoski (nee Odusoga) has also dancing background although she is most well-known for being Miss Finland and Miss Universum 2nd Runner-Up.

Before his dancing “career”, Wilson was a 800 meters runner who represented Finland in athletics European and World Championships. He is also known as satusetä (=fairytale uncle) after he wrote a few children’s books based on the stories he has heard in Kenya. He is also involved in (local) politics which is not so unsual for ex-athletes in Finland. Parties need candidates who are already known by the public and athletes need something to do after their career.

Click here to see more my photos from the samba carnaval in my photography blog.

Helsinki Samba Carnaval Parade

Helsinki samba carneval’s parade was held today in central Helsinki. The event was really popular. Weather forecast was pretty miserable for the event but weather couldn’t have been better. Unfortunately the miserable weather arrived right now.

Click here to see my Samba Carnaval 2009 gallery.