Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools: Find out which ones they are and the order of their parade in 2023

To the Samba schools of Rio de Janeiro They are extremely famous and well-known throughout the country, shaking up the Sambadrome every year during Carnival.

Some maintain hegemony as the main schools in each parade, such as Beija-Flor and Mangueira, in addition to others that have been traditional for many years and continue to be present in the Sunday and Monday parades.

Here in this article, we will show you a little about all the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro who will parade in the special group and what the order will be in 2023.

Want to know everything about the subject? Then let's go!

About the Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro

Império Serrano

Império Serrano is a samba school that originated in Morro da Serrinha, located in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro.

Its headquarters are next to the train station known as Mercadão de Madureira, in the famous Madureira neighborhood, and the school was founded in 1947.

The name Império Serrano refers exactly to Morro da Serrinha and its colors are green and white, with the Brazilian Imperial Crown as its symbol.

This samba school is one of the most traditional in Rio, having won the carnival title 9 times (1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1972, 1982), but has not won for more than four decades.

The school won the 2nd division title in 2022 and returns, in 2023, to the special group of the Rio carnival.

Academics of Greater Rio

It is a samba school that parades in the special group of the Rio carnival, being from the city of Duque de Caxias, existing since 1988.

She is the current champion of the Rio Carnival, the first title won in its history, but she came in 2nd place four times (2006, 2007, 2010, 2020).

The school constantly uses the exaltation of the Amazon region as the theme of its parades and plots.

Independent Youth of Padre Miguel

Mocidade Independente originated in the Padre Miguel neighborhood, hence its name, and is headquartered on the famous Avenida Brasil, in Rio.

It has already won 6 Rio Carnival titles (1979, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2017) and is the 7th school in number of victories to date.

The school's growth from the 1970s onwards is associated with the sponsorship it received from the controversial gambling boss Castor de Andrade, a big fan of the club.

Unidos da Tijuca

Unidos da Tijuca originated in several hills in the Tijuca neighborhood and its headquarters were, for many years, in Morro do Borel.

Nowadays, the school's commercial block is located in the Santo Cristo neighborhood, very close to the city's bus station, Novo Rio.

The school has four Rio de Janeiro championship titles, in 1936, 2010, 2012 and 2014, that is, 3 won in the last decade.

Academics of Salgueiro

This is another samba school from Rio de Janeiro that is a multiple champion of the Rio carnival, one of the most traditional in history.

It started in Morro do Salgueiro and currently has its headquarters in the Andaraí neighborhood.

The school, founded in 1953, won 9 carnival titles (1960, 1963, 1965, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1993, 2009), but has not won for some time.

First Station of Mangueira

Mangueira is among the most traditional samba schools of Rio de Janeiro, its green and pink colors being very famous.

She is the second biggest champion of the Rio carnival, behind only Portela, with 20 titles on her trophy shelf.

The school dominated Rio's carnival in the 1980s, especially, but in this century it has only won three times (2002, 2016, 2019).

The school was founded in 1928 in Morro da Mangueira, which gives its name to the association, close to the region where Maracanã is located.

Mangueira has been an innovative school over the years, creating a wing of composers, including women, with a single marking, the surdo de primeira, and introducing, in the Brazilian carnival, the flag bearer and the mestre-sala.

Tuiuti Paradise

Paraíso do Tuiuti is an association that originated in Morro do Tuiuti, located in the neighborhood of São Cristovão.

The school's headquarters were close to Campo do São Cristovão, however, this location was changed this year.

The samba school has never won a special division title in Rio, but was runner-up in 2018.

Portela Samba School

Portela is the samba school in Rio de Janeiro with the most carnival titles, having the famous colors blue and white.

The school's most recent title was in 2017, more than 30 years after its last title in the 1990s.

Portela is the only school to have won seven championships, in the 1940s, and four championships, in the 1950s.

It is known as the Majesty of Samba, being one of the 3 founding schools of the Rio carnival, along with Mangueira and Deixa Falar.

Its function was as a carnival block, which was called Conjunto Oswaldo Cruz, as it emerged in the neighborhood of the same name, in 1923.

Unidos de Vila Isabel

Unidos de Vila Isabel school is another very traditional school in Rio de Janeiro, located in the neighborhood of the same name, and it has already won 3 titles, in 1988, 2006 and 2013.

Princess Isabel's crown is present in the school's coat of arms, with a blue ribbon that has the school's initials, on top of the crown, and a treble clef, Noel Rosa's feather and a tambourine at the bottom.

Imperatriz Leopoldinense

Imperatriz Leopoldinense is a samba school from Rio's carnival that is based in the Ramos neighborhood, and opened in 1959.

Its founder was Amaury Jório with some samba dancers in the Leopoldina area, a reference to the Estrada de Ferro Leopoldina, which was a railway that cut through the current neighborhood of Ramos.

The Railway was a reference to the Brazilian Empress Maria Leopoldina, so the Imperatriz Leopoldinense has a lot of history in its creation and with the Brazilian Empire.

Hummingbird of Nilopolis

It is impossible to talk about Rio's carnival without mentioning Beija-Flor de Nilópolis, one of the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro with the greatest tradition in history.

There are 14 achievements for the school, which is located in the municipality of Nilópolis, but which participates in the carnival in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.

In the century, Beija-Flor won no less than 8 titles, including a three-time championship between 2003 and 2005.

Beija-Flor is only behind Mangueira and Portela, its two biggest rivals, in terms of the number of titles.

However, the school can say that it is the biggest winner within the “Sambadrome Era”, which began in 1984.

In addition to these championship titles, Beija-Flor also came in 2nd place 13 times, which shows how close it is to the top!

United of Viradouro

The Unidos do Viradouro Samba School or simply Viradouro originated in the neighborhood of the same name, but its headquarters are currently in the Barreto neighborhood.

The school has two titles in the special carnival group, the last one in 2020, but it has also won the access series several times.

Despite only two championships, it is also quite traditional in Rio's carnival, increasingly present in the most important group of parades.

What will be the order of the Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools parade in 2023?

One of the most anticipated moments for those who love the fashion shows samba schools of Rio de Janeiro is to know what the order will be.

The draw for the 2023 carnival was held at the beginning of July, in Cidade do Samba, and the Império Serrano school will open the party, while Viradouro will close the parade.

The order and parade days for each school were as follows:

• On Sunday, February 19th, the following will parade:
• Império Serrano
• Academics of Grande Rio (the current champion school)
• Mocidade Indep. by Father Miguel
• Unidos da Tijuca
• Academics of Salgueiro
• First Station of Mangueira

On February 20th, a Monday, the following will parade:

• Tuiuti Paradise
• Portela
• Unidos de Vila Isabel
• Imperatriz Leopoldinense
• Hummingbird of Nilopolis
• United of Viradouro

With the days and order defined, you can plan to go to the Sambadrome on the day your favorite school takes to the catwalk or even on both days, knowing how each school will enter the avenue.

Don't Miss the Rio de Janeiro Samba School Parade

As you have seen, Rio's carnival is the biggest event in the world, so there is always a lot of anticipation regarding who will parade on which day in the Special Group parade.

In this text, you learned more about each school that will participate in the special group in 2023, as well as what the order of entry will be and on which day each school will go to the avenue to show its samba-enredo.

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