Brazil eyes cut-price 'Crisis Carnival' amid economic woes

Pheasant feathers from last year’s costumes are being stained and reused. Swarovski stones are out, cheap rocks are in. Imported paints, sequins and buckles have been replaced with local knockoffs.

Brazil’s Carnival, a four-day bacchanal revered as the world’s hottest annual party, is suffering a distinct downgrade this year as the country faces what may be its deepest recession in a century.

Fewer than half of Rio de Janeiro’s samba schools that plan the parades got the corporate cash that account for up to half of their budgets, according to Liesa, the Carnival association.