Photo and caption by Cassandra Thiel

This is one of the many beautiful sights of Carnival 2012. These spinning ladies are part of the Salgueiro school of samba, whose theme this year was "Cord Literature," a popular form of folk poetry and music from the northeast of Brazil. Artists who create these booklets hang them on cords for display, hence the name. Salgueiro placed second in Rio de Janeiro's 2012 samba competition.

Location: Sambódromo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil