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The journey began in São Luís, Maranhão, a city in northeast Brazil.

Other major cities such as Olinda, São Luís and Florianópolis have also canceled their Carnival events in the last 24 hours.

Northeastern cities Salvador and Sao Luis started on Monday, and the most populous city of Sao Paulo will begin Sept. 6.

But as a young girl growing up in São Luís, a coastal city in Brazil’s northeast, and Brasília, the capital, she used to wonder if becoming a professional was even viable.

She could picture herself: Another person in the favelas of São Luís, where other displaced families have ended up, fearing violence and spending every dime on food they’d once fished or grown.