Escolas de Samba (Samba Schools)
do Rio de Janeiro
Escolas de Samba (Samba Schools) represent the community spirit of a neighborhood, usually Rio’s working class neighborhoods (favelas) or communities (comunidades). They bring a sense of community and belonging. Escolas have a huge impact on their neighborhoods, as they are the most engaged organized entities in their neighborhoods, with thousands of people getting involved in community events, political activities, rehearsals and carnaval preparations. They are absolutely essential pieces of life in Rio de Janeiro and its culture.(2)
In the 1920s, a revolutionary group of composers from the Rio neighborhood of Estácio de Sá that included Ismael Silva (1905-1978), Bide (Alcebíades Barcelos, 1902-1975), Armando Marçal (1902-1947), Nilton Bastos, and others charted a new course for the fledgling genre. In contrast to the maxixe-based sambas of Donga and Sinhô, the Estácio sambas featured a type of guide rhythm, or time-line, of Bantu African origin known in Rio as teleco-teco. This pattern — often played on the four-string cavaquinho or small frame drum called a tamborim — has come to shape the rhythmic structure of the genre ever since.The Estácio composers also transformed their local bloco carnavalesco or bloco (informal street Carnaval group) into the first escola de samba or “samba school,” called Deixa Falar (Let Them Talk), founded on August 12, 1928. The name “Let Them Talk” was a reference to the rivalry that existed among Carnaval groups from different neigborhoods. Located near a school that graduated teachers who worked in the City school district, Deixa Falar was called a “samba school” because its leaders — considered professors of this new type of samba — were said to graduate sambistas. (1) The blocos had no fixed membership and little or no leadership; they were simply groups of friends from different neighborhoods who got together at Carnaval time to sing and dance the samba. The blocos were often attacked by Rio's police. Following the formation of the first Samba School, numerous blocos converted their groups to Samba Schools, with an eye toward increasing their legitimacy and averting police repression.(3) Deixa Falar sparked a revolution that led to the emergence of other schools including Estação Primeira de Mangueira and Conjunto Oswaldo Cruz (now Portela) — two of the oldest-surviving and most venerable samba schools of Rio today.(1)
The first samba school contest occurred in 1929 and were held at the home of Zé Espinguela, where Conjunto Oswaldo Cruz, Mangueira and Deixa Falar competed for the title.(4) The first unofficial samba school parade competition was held in 1932 in Praça Onze. In 1935, the federal Getúlio Vargas government officially recognized the samba schools and sanctioned them to parade in downtown Rio.(1) A significant majority of the samba schools, mainly in Rio de Janeiro, have in their name the words Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba (Recreative Guild Samba School), represented by the acronym GRES, before the name itself. The standardization of the classifications of entities emerged in 1935 when the Rio carnival associations were required to take a charter to the Delegacia de Costumes e Diversões (Delegation of Customs and Entertainment) to be able to parade. (6)
Currently, Escolas de Samba in Rio de Janeiro parade during the week of Carnaval. They choose the plots, write music and lyrics, make costumes and floats, and rehearse throughout the year. They are subject to a strict hierarchy and are organized into competitive leagues, these being the Grupo Especial, Serie Ouro, Serie Prata and Serie Bronze. The first two leagues parade in the Sambódromo (Avenida Marques de Sapucai). The other series parade on Estrada Intendente Magalhães. The twelve highest scoring schools from the previous year make up the Grupo Especial. They form a contest with 3,000-5,000 participants to compete on Sunday and Monday of Carnaval. Each year, the lowest-scoring school is demoted from the Grupo Especial to the Serie Ouro league. Serie Ouro has thirteen schools that also parade in the Sambadromo, on Carnaval Friday and Saturday. Conversely, the best school of the year in Serie Ouro joins the Grupo Especial the following year. The school in Serie Ouro with the worst performance in the Sambadromo is relegated to Serie Prata. Serie Prata are usually smaller schools, each school with approximately 1,500 participants.(2)
Each samba school has its own distinct colors (of its flag - pavilhao). The color scheme is reflected in many parts of a school's parade. Each school also has a Carnavalesco (Carnaval Director), Diretor da Bateria (Director of the Band/Drums), Rainha da Bateria (Queen of the Drum) and a main Mestre Sala e Porta Bandeira (a couple of dancers who perform the function of leading and presenting the flag of a samba school during its Carnaval parade).
Schools also have an ala (parade group within a school) of Passistas. The word "Passista" first appeared in the 1950s and had its first reference in 1971. In the beginning, Passistas were people among the school's components with excellent samba skills. They paraded in pairs or trios placed in between two Alas of the Carnaval parade, like a highlight (destaque). Alas are the different groups (40 to 60 people) parading with different costumes within a School of Samba. By the end of 1980, Passistas started parading together in one big ala which comes just before the Bateria ala in the Carnaval parade. Schools offer their communities (primarily free of charge) training in Samba no Pé (Samba on the foot) for their Passistas. Passista is a profession in Brazil, and these highly skilled dancers who are so dedicated to the art of Samba deserve respect.(5)