Brazil’s carnival kicked off with millions of people taking to the streets of the northeastern city of Salvador de Bahia to dance and party, effectively putting the nation on a week-long hiatus.

Over the coming days, the festivities will consume the entire country of 193 million people.

The climax reaches tomorrow and Monday with Rio de Janeiro’s extravagant and sexy parades, replete with near-naked dancing queens and over-the-top fantasy floats.

Even the capital Brasilia was suspending political and legislative work, with many lawmakers leaving town to enjoy the celebrations.

“Brazil’s carnival is a tradition. Nobody can resist the need to be part of it,” the head of the senate, Jose Sarney, said.

Salvador de Bahia, with its heady melange of African rhythms and Portuguese colonial architecture, as usual was quickest to get the party started, playing host to dozens of street dance-and-drinking celebrations.

Google was inciting envy worldwide by broadcasting the fun there through its YouTube site.

The annual pre-Easter frenzy of non-stop partying, drinking, flirting and concerts in Brazil is a big tourist draw, especially for Rio, where authorities have cracked down in recent weeks and months on criminal gangs to improve the city’s violent image.

Rio joined the festivities yesterday night, like most of the country.

Then, tomorrow and Monday, the top carnival parade groups – Rio’s samba schools – will crown the rejoicing by filing through the 70,000-seat Sambadrome stadium for a global broadcast audience.

The parades are at once an exhibition of pride for the city’s massive poor population, and a competition watched nationally as closely as any major football game.

Each of the 12 samba schools participating will deploy up to 5,000 dancers, and each will be lead by the sexily iconic “drum queens” – sculpted women in heels wearing little more than feathers, sequins and big smile.