Samba school rehearsals

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Portela

Portela was born on April 11, 1923, in Oswaldo Cruz, in the Madureira area of Rio’s northern suburbs, out of gatherings of sambistas in the neighborhood’s backyards. Its founders include Paulo da Portela, Antônio Caetano and Antônio Rufino. It is the oldest samba school still active in Rio and the only one to have taken part in every one of the city’s parades. Its colors are blue and white, and its symbol is the eagle, which traditionally opens its parades.

With 22 titles, Portela is the most successful school in Rio’s Carnival. Its first official title came in 1935 and the most recent in 2017 — shared with Mocidade — after a 33-year wait. Figures such as Paulo da Portela, Natal, Candeia, Monarco, Clara Nunes and Paulinho da Viola are part of its story, and its Velha Guarda (old guard) is a samba landmark. Today its hall, the Portelão, hosts rehearsals, samba circles and feijoadas that bring together generations of portelenses.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Estação Primeira de Mangueira

Estação Primeira de Mangueira was founded on April 28, 1928, on Mangueira hill, near the Maracanã stadium, by Cartola, Carlos Cachaça, Saturnino Gonçalves and other sambistas. Cartola gave it its name — a reference to the train station at the foot of the hill — and chose green and pink. According to tradition, the colors pay tribute to the Rancho dos Arrepiados, a carnival group from Laranjeiras, the neighborhood where he spent his childhood. Its symbol is a crowned drum surrounded by laurels.

With 20 titles, Mangueira is the second most successful school in Rio’s Carnival. Jamelão’s voice led its parades for more than half a century, and sambistas such as Nelson Cavaquinho and Nelson Sargento are part of its story. Recent wins include 2016, a tribute to Maria Bethânia, and 2019, with “História pra ninar gente grande”, which gave a voice to heroes left out of Brazil’s official history. Its hall, the Palácio do Samba, stands at the foot of the hill.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Unidos da Tijuca

Unidos da Tijuca was founded on December 31, 1931, on Borel hill, in Tijuca, through the union of blocos from neighboring communities — Borel, Casa Branca, Formiga and Ilha dos Velhacos — where many formerly enslaved people and their descendants lived. It is one of Rio’s oldest schools. Its colors are peacock blue and golden yellow, and its symbol is the peacock, which began opening its parades in 1984, the year the Sambadrome opened, replacing the old emblem of clasped hands.

The school won its first title in 1936 and waited more than seven decades to return to the top, in the 21st century, with carnavalesco (parade designer) Paulo Barros, known for his surprising effects. In 2010, with “É segredo!”, its front commission, whose dancers changed costumes in the blink of an eye, made Sambadrome history. Titles followed in 2012, a tribute to Luiz Gonzaga, and in 2014, about Ayrton Senna, for a total of four championships.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Unidos de Vila Isabel

Unidos de Vila Isabel was founded on April 4, 1946, by Antônio Fernandes da Silva, known as Seu China, in the backyard of a house in Vila Isabel, in the North Zone — the neighborhood of Noel Rosa, one of samba’s great names. Its colors are blue and white, and its symbol is the crown. In 1965 Martinho da Vila joined the school; he renewed its theme sambas with lighter lyrics and melodies and is now its honorary president.

Vila has three titles. The first, in 1988, came with “Kizomba, festa da raça”, a theme by Martinho da Vila that marked the centenary of the abolition of slavery by celebrating Black culture and the fight against racism, built with simple materials such as straw and sisal. In 2006 it won with “Soy loco por ti, América”, and in 2013 with a theme about rural workers. Today the school runs social and cultural projects in the neighborhood, such as the Celeiro de Bamba institute.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Unidos do Viradouro

Unidos do Viradouro was founded on June 24, 1946, in Barreto, in Niterói, across Guanabara Bay. Its name was inspired by the area where, at the time, the trams that carried local people passed. Red and white today, the school wore blue and pink until 1970. Before parading in Rio, it won 18 titles in Niterói’s Carnival, including five in a row between 1980 and 1984.

In Rio, its first title came in 1997 with “Trevas! Luz! A explosão do universo”, by Joãosinho Trinta, which brought the creation of the universe to the avenue. Then came 2020, with a theme about the Ganhadeiras de Itapuã, from Bahia; 2024, with “Arroboboi, Dangbé”, about the cult of the sacred serpent of Benin; and 2026, with “Pra cima, Ciça!”, a tribute to drum master Ciça. That makes four titles, three of them in recent years, and makes Viradouro one of the powerhouses of today’s Carnival.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Beija-Flor de Nilópolis

Beija-Flor de Nilópolis was founded on Christmas Day 1948 in Nilópolis, in the Baixada Fluminense, north of Rio. Its colors are blue and white, and its symbol is the hummingbird (beija-flor). The turning point came in 1976 with carnavalesco Joãosinho Trinta, who straight away gave the school three titles in a row — 1976, 1977 and 1978 — and lavish parades. In 1989, his legendary “Ratos e urubus, larguem minha fantasia” brought to the avenue a Christ sculpture wrapped in black plastic after a court ban.

With 15 titles, Beija-Flor is the third most successful school in Rio’s Carnival and the one with the most wins since the Sambadrome opened in 1984. Its most recent title, in 2025, honored Laíla, the school’s longtime carnival director, and marked the farewell of Neguinho da Beija-Flor, its voice for about 50 Carnivals. In 2026 it finished second, a tenth of a point behind the winner. In Nilópolis, the school also runs social and educational projects.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Paraíso do Tuiuti

Paraíso do Tuiuti was founded on April 5, 1952, on Tuiuti hill, in São Cristóvão, near Downtown, bringing together sambistas from older groups on the hill. Its colors are yellow and blue. For decades the school paraded in the lower divisions: it made its Grupo Especial debut in 2001, returned in 2017 after winning the access division, and has stayed in the top league of Rio’s Carnival ever since.

Its big moment came in 2018. With “Meu Deus, meu Deus, está extinta a escravidão?”, by carnavalesco Jack Vasconcelos, the school marked 130 years since the abolition of slavery and questioned the exploitation of today’s workers. It finished runner-up, just a tenth of a point behind Beija-Flor — the best result in its history — and the parade drew international attention. Since then, Tuiuti has been known for themes with strong social content that speak to today’s Brazil.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Acadêmicos do Salgueiro

Acadêmicos do Salgueiro was founded on March 5, 1953, from the merger of two schools from Salgueiro hill, in Tijuca: Depois Eu Digo and Azul e Branco. It adopted red and white and the motto “Neither better nor worse, just a different school”. In the 1960s, with carnavalescos such as Fernando Pamplona and Arlindo Rodrigues, it brought Black heroes of Brazilian history to the avenue, such as Zumbi dos Palmares and Chica da Silva, and renewed the look of the parades.

It has nine titles: 1960, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1993 and 2009. Those of 1974 and 1975 were designed by Joãosinho Trinta, who learned his craft at Salgueiro before shining at Beija-Flor, and the 1993 win, with “Peguei um Ita no Norte”, left one of the most-sung choruses in Sambadrome history. The latest came in 2009, with “Tambor”. Its drum section, nicknamed Furiosa, is one of the highlights of rehearsals at the school’s hall in Andaraí.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel

Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel was founded on November 10, 1955, in Padre Miguel, in the West Zone, out of a local football team. Its colors are green and white, and its symbol is the star. Its drum section became famous under Mestre André, credited with creating the “paradinha”, a rehearsed break in which the drummers stop playing for a few moments while the school keeps singing — a device now used by many schools.

It has six titles: 1979, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1996 and 2017, the last one shared with Portela. The 1985 parade, “Ziriguidum 2001”, by carnavalesco Fernando Pinto, took a futuristic Carnival to the stars and is one of the school’s best-remembered; another winning phase followed with Renato Lage in the 1990s. Mocidade is also the godmother of the London School of Samba, the first samba school in the United Kingdom.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Imperatriz Leopoldinense

Imperatriz Leopoldinense was founded on March 6, 1959, in Ramos, in the North Zone, by sambistas led by pharmacist Amaury Jório. The name comes from Leopoldina, the area crossed by the old railway of the same name, and the crown in its emblem recalls Brazil’s First Empire and Empress Leopoldina. Its green, white and gold colors were inherited from its godmother, Império Serrano, one of Rio’s most traditional schools.

It has nine titles. The 1989 win, with “Liberdade! Liberdade! Abre as asas sobre nós!”, about the centenary of the Brazilian Republic, is considered by many one of the greatest theme sambas of all time. Between 1994 and 2001, carnavalesca Rosa Magalhães led the school to five titles, including three in a row in 1999, 2000 and 2001. After a 22-year wait, Imperatriz won again in 2023, with a theme by Leandro Vieira about the cangaceiro (backlands outlaw) Lampião.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Acadêmicos do Grande Rio

Acadêmicos do Grande Rio was founded on September 22, 1988, in Duque de Caxias, in the Baixada Fluminense, through the union of two local groups — Grande Rio and Acadêmicos de Duque de Caxias — under the leadership of Milton Perácio. Its colors are green, red and white. The school rose quickly through the lower divisions, won the access group in 1992 and has paraded in the Grupo Especial since 1993.

For many years, Grande Rio was known for its grand parades and collected runner-up finishes, such as those of 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2020. Its first title came in 2022 with “Fala, Majeté! Sete chaves de Exu”, by carnavalescos Gabriel Haddad and Leonardo Bora, which challenged stereotypes about Exu, a deity of Afro-Brazilian religions, and moved the Sambadrome. Today the Caxias school is among those with the largest social media following.

Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba União de Maricá

União de Maricá was founded on May 26, 2015, in the city of Maricá, in Greater Rio, with the aim of uniting the town’s old samba schools. Its colors are red, golden yellow, blue and white. Its godmother is Unidos do Porto da Pedra and its godfather is the Cordão da Bola Preta, honored in the 2018 parade that gave the school its first title, in the Série Bronze.

Its rise was fast: after the Série Bronze, the school moved through the Série Prata, made its Sambadrome debut in 2024 in the Série Ouro, and in 2026 won that division with “Berenguendéns e Balangandãs”, by carnavalesco Leandro Vieira, about the jewelry worn by Black women as a symbol of faith, protection and freedom. The youngest school in the Grupo Especial, União de Maricá makes its top-league debut at Carnival 2027 with a theme about Darcy Ribeiro.