King Momo, a jolly fat man who reigns over the city during Carnival, arrived at city hall in a 1929 Ford Phantom convertible, accompanied by the Carnival queen and princesses, already wearing his blue crown and an impeccable white suit aglitter with sequins.
The Carnival king has been acted since 2009 by bank employee Milton Rodrigues da Silva Junior, 33.
Paes, with a white Panama hat and a wreath of blue feathers around his neck, kissed King Momo's hand and, with one knee to the ground, handed him the keys to the city with the notes of "Cidade Maravilhosa" (Marvellous City), the unofficial anthem of Rio de Janeiro, playing in the background.
