Anitta has been named the new rainha de bateria, or samba queen, for Grande Rio, one of Rio de Janeiro's major samba schools, for the 2027 Carnival season.
The announcement was made with exclusivity by the Extra newspaper's Retratos da Vida column on Tuesday. The singer will officially be presented by the school in the coming days, with a formal announcement scheduled for Saturday.
Anitta replaces Virginia Fonseca, who vacated the position last Wednesday. After Fonseca's departure, Grande Rio, based in Caxias in the Baixada Fluminense region, moved quickly to identify candidates for the role. Paolla de Oliveira declined an offer to return to the position, after which Anitta was invited and accepted.
This will not be Anitta's first appearance at the Marquês de Sapucaí, Rio's famous Carnival parade venue. The singer previously paraded as a muse for Mocidade, her school of choice, in 2016. She had also been considered as a potential samba queen for Padre Miguel school in place of Fabíola Andrade for the 2027 Carnival season.
Grande Rio has a history of selecting prominent women for the samba queen position. Past queens of the school include Susana Vieira, Grazi Massafera, Juliana Paes, and Paolla de Oliveira.
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