(Sarah Kamada/Superinteresting)
In Rio de Janeiro, since 1988, they are determined by the Liga Independente das Escolas de Samba (Liesa), created in 1984 by directors of ten of the main schools of the Special Group. The League created a training course for samba school judges and defined evaluation methods (all grades need to be justified, for example).
Generally, the jury is invited for their outstanding academic, artistic or professional knowledge and receives financial aid to attend the fashion shows – in 2017, it was BRL 4,000. The judge can watch the parade accompanied, but cannot consume alcohol, of course.
There are 54 jurors, but, in the calculation, 18 are discarded. In the end, only 5 of them are used for each of the 9 categories, and then the highest and lowest scores for each item are eliminated. In the end, it will be worth the opinion of only 27 evaluators.
after the Carnival, the schools meet and can, in plenary, decide to suspend or keep one of the guests. Most remain. Of the 54 jurors in 2018, 47 will follow in 2019. One of the seven new ones, for example, is the playwright from Rio Gustavo Paso, 50 years old, who has been working with theater since 1991.
Some jurors have been in office for decades, such as artist Ilclemar Nunes, who has been evaluating master of ceremonies and flag bearers for almost 30 years.