Portela (samba school)

The Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Portela or Portela for short, is a traditional samba school, founded in 1923, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The school has the highest number of wins in the top-tier Rio parade, with 22 titles in total, including the 2017 Carnival parade.[1]

Portela
Full nameGrêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Portela
Foundation11 April 1923; 101 years ago (1923-04-11)
Colors  
SymbolEagle with open wings
LocationMadureira
Oswaldo Cruz
PresidentLuis Carlos Magalhães
Honorary presidentMonarco [pt]
Carnival staff
Carnival producerRenato Lage
Márcia Lage
Carnival singerGilsinho
Carnival directorFábio Pavão
Claudinho Portela
Marco Aurélio Fernandes
Júnior Schall
Júnior Escafura
Harmony directorChopp
Jeronymo da Portela
Leonardo Brandão
Nilce Fran
Márcio Emerson
Jorge Barbosa
Sérvolo Jorge
Valter Moura
Mestre-sala and Porta-BandeiraMarlon Lamar and Lucinha Nobre
ChoreographyCarlinhos de Jesus
2020 presentation
TitleGuajupiá, terra sem males
(Guajupiá, land without evil)
MotifTupinambá
Presentation order7th school on Sunday
Result7th
Website
gresportela.com.br

History

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At the start of the 20th century, in Oswaldo Cruz, a neighborhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro forms a carnivalesque group of dancers called Quem Fala de Nós Come Mosca which literally translated as "Who talks about us eats flies". They are based in Dona Ester.[2] A dissidence of this group of dancers (called "bloco" in Brazilian Portuguese) appears in 1922 and another bloco, the Baianinhas de Oswaldo Cruz (Baianas of Oswaldo Cruz) is created.[2] Later, a dissidence of Baianas creates the Conjunto Carnavalesco Oswaldo Cruz (Carnaval Ensemble Oswaldo Cruz) on April 11, 1926.[2] The founders are from Oswaldo Cruz however, Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Portela is actually founded, on 412 Portela Road, in the neighborhood of Madureira.

After winning the contest between sambistas in 1929, performed in the house of Zé Espinguela, the bloco changes its name to Quem nos Faz é o Capricho (Who makes us is caprice). In 1931, when the samba schools are still being determined, the group changes its name again, this time to Vai como Pode (Go as you can). In 1935, the school is the champion of the first official parade of the city of Rio de Janeiro.[3][4]

 
Inauguration of the new headquarters of the samba school Portela, 1972.

The name "Vai como Pode" is used until 1935, when, after the Carnaval, on March 1 of 1935, on the occasion of the renovation of the licence of the school in the police, the officer Dulcídio Gonçalves refused to renovate the license with this name, considering it as vulgar and not dignified for a samba school. The same officer suggested a new name, Grêmio Recreativo e Escola de Samba Portela, in homage to the street in Madureira where sambistas had gathered.[2] The change pleased the community; many had already been referring to the school as the "folks from Portela". In 1939, the samba of Paulo da Portela, "Teste ao Samba" (Test for the samba), was considered the first samba-enredo. In the same year, Portela renovated things by bringing to the parade costumes totally framed to the enredo (plot).[3]

 
Portela, 1972.

In 1941, after a misunderstanding with the master of ceremonies Manuel Bambã, Paulo da Portela, the group, stopped parading. This occurred because Paulo, during a long period of time, argued that all of the components would parade correctly costumed, dressed with the colors of the school, however on the day of the parade he came back from a presentation in São Paulo, along with Heitor dos Prazeres and Cartola, and all of them were dressed in black and white. With no time to change costumes, they agreed to parade without changing clothes, together, in the samba schools of each one. However, in the turn to parade for Portela, Bambã did not authorize that the other two (Heitor and Cartola), not being from the school and not being correctly dressed, would parade. Actually Bambã had already had misunderstandings with Heitor, that once belonged to Portela. However, at that time, many portelenses (people who liked Portela) favoured Bambã, because they judged lack of coherency on the part of Paulo da Portela, that argued so much that they should parade with the colours of the school and then parade with black and white. After this, Paulo da Portela never paraded for his school.

In total, Portela conquered 22 titles of Carnaval, being the school with the largest number of titles to date.[4] Some of the great Brazilian samba composers, such as Monarco, Zé Keti, Casquinha, Manacéa, Candeia, Aldir Blanc, Paulinho da Viola, João Nogueira, Noca da Portela, Colombo, among others, beyond being one of the most traditional samba schools of Brazil, worked for the school. Portela has an important participation in the cultural life of the city during the entire year, through the presentations of her Velha Guarda (a term for the oldest-ones (among a group of people)) and of her prizewinning bateria, among other things. The school's symbol is an eagle that in all the parades is seen in the abre alas (the car that opens the samba parade in Carnival) of the school. The Velha Guarda also released an album called Tudo Azul in 1999.

The bateria – called Tabajara do Samba (Tabajara of Samba) – is characterized mainly by the touch of the Surdo de Terceira invented by Sula in the 1940s, and the touch of the boxes with a peculiar frill. It is the most heavy bateria of the Carioca Carnival and counts on a big number of surdos (a type of drum) of First, Second, and Third. They were masters of GRES Portela: Master Betinho of the foundation in the 1960s, Master Cinco in the 1970s, Master Marçal in the 1980s, Mater Timbó in the 1990s, among others.

More than three decades later, Portela does not know how to win the carnival alone. From 1990, the school suffered many internal problems, that reflected on the parades and on the collocations of the parades. The best moment was in 1995 when the plot "Gosto que me enrosco" (I like when I twist myself) gave the vice-championship to the school of Madureira. In 2005, Portela stayed in 13th place, in the polemic parade where the school was prohibited to use their Velha Guarda. In 2006, the school recovered and stayed in 7th place, and in 2007 with the plot about the 2007 Pan American Games (held in Rio de Janeiro) fell one step, staying in 8th place.

An opposition movement formed that promoted carreatas and various events through the neighborhood of Madureira, and culminated in the election of May 19, 2013, where the plate "Portela Verdade", formed by Serginho Procópio, composer and member of the old-guard, the police Marcos Falcon besides Monarco as president of honor of the plate, was approved by winning, beat then President Nilo Figueiredo, who announced the result that ended with 154 votes for Serginho, 151 Nile and 8 null votes.

In 2014, the team was presented: the carnival producer Alexandre Louzada, carnival director Luiz Carlos Bruno, the singer Wantuir in master-room Diogo Jesus and the porta bandeira Danielle Birth the Ghislaine Cavalcanti, choreographer of the front. The plot of 2014 "Um Rio, de Mar a Mar. Do Valongo à Glória de São Sebastião" addressed how the carioca has adapted over the course of the transformations in the region between the waterfront and the Bairro da Glória (neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro), the blue and white made best parade in recent years, being considered one of the favorites. However they got the third place with 299 to 4 tenths of a champion. The result was celebrated by the board and twisted.

Already the plot was set for 2015, which was on the 450th anniversary of Rio de Janeiro. With the continuity of the carnival producer Alexandre Louzada and there is the acquisition of Wander Pires, who stood at the end of the theme song, being promoted to singer beside Wantuir, being one of its highlights the redemptive Eagle however with many ups and downs, the school managed the 5th placing. In 2016, the school brought the notorious Paulo Barros changing the direction of harmony.

 
Portela, 2019. Photo: Guy Veloso

After the 2016 carnival Marcos Falcon won the vote of the school and became president of the school after serving as vice-president. But months after taking office, he resigned to run in the city council elections. As a result, the 2017 general championship, the first in 33 years, was the first school victory under historian Luis Carlos Magalhãe, who assumed the presidency in the spring of 2016.[5]

Classifications

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Year Place Division Plot Carnivals Producers
Singers
1932 Vice Champion Grupo Único Carnaval moderno Antônio Caetano
Paulo da Portela
1933 4th place Grupo Único Voando para a glória Antônio Caetano
Paulo da Portela
1934 Vice Champion Grupo Único Antônio Caetano Academia do Samba
Paulo da Portela
1935 Champion UGESB O Samba dominando o mundo Antônio Caetano
Paulo da Portela
1936 3rd place UGESB Paraded without defined plot Paulo da Portela
Bibi
Chatim
1937 Vice Champion UGESB O Carnaval samba de Boaventura Paulo da Portela
Bibi
Chatim
1938 There was no contest Democracia do Samba Paulo da Portela
Bibi
Chatim
1939 Champion UGESB Teste ao samba Paulo da Portela
Bibi
Chatim
1940 5th place UGESB Homenagem à Justiça Paulo da Portela
Bibi
Chatim
1941 Champion UGESB Dez anos de glória Paulo da Portela
Lino Manuel dos Reis
Alvaiade
Chatim
1942 Champion UGESB A vida no samba Lino Manuel dos Reis
Alvaiade
Chatim
1943 Champion UGESB Carnaval de Guerra Lino Manuel dos Reis
Alvaiade
Chatim
1944 Champion UGESB Brasil glorioso Lino Manuel dos Reis
Ventura
1945 Champion UGESB Motivos patrióticos Lino Manuel dos Reis
Ventura
1946 Champion UGESB Alvorada do novo mundo Lino Manuel dos Reis
Ventura
1947 Champion UGESB Honra ao mérito Lino Manuel dos Reis
Alvaiade
1948 3rd place FBES Princesa Isabel Lino Manuel dos Reis
Manacéa
1949 Vice Champion UGESB Despertar do Gigante Lino Manuel dos Reis
Manacéa
1950 Vice Champion UCES Riquezas do Brasil Lino Manuel dos Reis
Manacéa
1951 Champion UGESB A volta do filho pródigo Lino Manuel dos Reis
Chatim
1952 There was no tender Brasil de ontem Lino Manuel dos Reis
Manacéa
1953 Champion Grupo 1 Seis datas magnas Lino Manuel dos Reis
Candeia
1954 4th place Grupo 1 São Paulo Quatrocentão Lino Manuel dos Reis
Candeia
1955 3rd place Grupo 1 Festas juninas em fevereiro Armando Santos
Candeia
1956 Vice Champion Grupo 1 Tesouros do Brasil, ou riquezas do Brasil ou Gigante pela própria natureza Lino Manuel dos Reis
Candeia
1957 Champion Grupo 1 Legados de D. João VI Djalma Vogue
Candeia
Joacir
Candeia
1958 Champion Grupo 1 Vultos e efemérides Djalma Vogue
Candeia
1959 Champion Grupo 1 Brasil, Panteon de Glórias Djalma Vogue
Candeia
1960 Champion Grupo 1 Rio cidade eterna Djalma Vogue
Silvinho da Portela
1961 3rd place Grupo 1 Jóias e lendas do Brasil Djalma Vogue
Silvinho da Portela
1962 Champion Grupo 1 Rugendas ou Viagens pitorescas pelo Brasil Nélson de Andrade
Silvinho da Portela
1963 4th place Grupo 1 Barão de Mauá e suas realizações Nilton
Oreba
Peres
Finfas
Silvinho da Portela
1964 Champion Grupo 1 O segundo casamento de D. Pedro II Nélson de Andrade
Abílio Martins
1965 3rd place Grupo 1 História e tradição do Rio Quatrocentão Nélson de Andrade
Abílio Martins
1966 Champion Grupo 1 Memórias de um sargento de milícias Nélson de Andrade
Catoni
1967 6th place Grupo 1 Tal dia é o batizado Nélson de Andrade
Juvenal Portela
Laurênio
Catoni
1968 4th place Grupo 1 Tronco de Ipê João Ramos Macedo
Silvinho da Portela
1969 3rd place Grupo 1 Treze naus Clóvis Bornay
Silvinho da Portela
1970 Champion Grupo 1 Lendas e mistérios da Amazônia Clóvis Bornay
Silvinho da Portela
1971 Vice Champion Grupo 1 A Lapa em três tempos Arnaldo Pederneiras
Silvinho da Portela
1972 3rd place Grupo 1 Ilu Ayê Candeia and Hiran Araújo
Silvinho da Portela
1973 4th place Grupo 1 Pasárgada, o amigo do rei Hiran Araújo
Silvinho da Portela
1974 Vice-Champion Grupo 1 O mundo melhor de Pixinguinha Hiran Araújo and Cláudio Pinheiro
Silvinho da Portela
1975 5th place Grupo 1 Macunaíma, herói de nossa gente Hiran Araújo
Silvinho da Portela
1976 4th place Grupo 1 O Homem do Pacoval Hiran Araújo
Maurício Assis
Silvinho da Portela
1977 Vice Champion Grupo 1 A Festa de Aclamação Viriato Ferreira
Silvinho da Portela
1978 5th place Grupo 1 Mulher à Brasileira Viriato Ferreira
Silvinho da Portela
1979 3rd place Grupo 1A Incrível, fantástico, extraordinário Viriato Ferreira
Silvinho da Portela
1980 Champion Grupo 1A Hoje tem marmelada Viriato Ferreira
Silvinho da Portela
1981 3rd place Grupo 1A Das Maravilhas do Mar, fez-se o esplendor de uma noite Viriato Ferreira
Silvinho da Portela
1982 Vice Champion Grupo 1A Meu Brasil brasileiro Edmundo Braga
Silvinho da Portela
1983 Vice Champion Grupo 1A A Ressurreição das Coroas, Reino e Reinado Edmundo Braga
Paulino Espírito Santo
Silvinho da Portela
1984 Champion Grupo 1A Contos de areia Edmundo Braga
Paulino Espírito Santo
Silvinho da Portela
1985 4th place Grupo 1A Recordar é viver Alexandre Louzada
Silvinho da Portela
1986 4th place Grupo 1A Morfeu no carnaval, a utopia brasileira Alexandre Louzada
Silvinho da Portela
1987 3rd place Grupo 1A Adelaide, a pomba da paz Geraldo Cavalcanti
Dedé da Portela
1988 5th place Grupo 1 Na lenda carioca, os sonhos do vice-rei Geraldo Cavalcanti
Dedé da Portela
1989 6th place Grupo 1 Achado não é roubado Sylvio Cunha
Dedé da Portela
1990 10th place Grupo Especial É de ouro e prata esse chão Sylvio Cunha
Dedé da Portela
1991 6th place Grupo Especial Tributo à vaidade Sylvio Cunha
Dedé da Portela
1992 5th place Grupo Especial Todo o azul que o azul tem Sylvio Cunha
Dedé da Portela
1993 10th place Grupo Especial Cerimônia de casamento Mário Monteiro
Dedé da Portela
1994 7th place Grupo Especial Quando o samba era samba José Félix
Dedé da Portela
1995 Vice Champion Grupo Especial Gosto que me enrosco José Félix
Rixxah
Carlinhos de Pilares
1996 8th place Grupo Especial Essa gente bronzeada mostra seu valor José Félix
Rixxah
1997 8th place Grupo Especial Linda, eternamente Olinda Ilvamar Magalhães
Rixxah
1998 4th place Grupo Especial Os olhos da noite Ilvamar Magalhães
Rogerinho
1999 8th place Grupo Especial De volta aos caminhos de Minas Gerais José Félix
Rogerinho
2000 10th place Grupo Especial Trabalhadores do Brasil, a época de Getúlio Vargas José Félix
Gera
2001 10th place Grupo Especial Querer é poder Alexandre Louzada
Gera
2002 8th place Grupo Especial Amazonas, Esse Desconhecido... Delírios e Verdades do Eldorado Verde Alexandre Louzada
Gera
2003 8th place Grupo Especial Ontem, Hoje, Sempre Cinelândia - O Samba entra em cena na Broadway Brasileira" Alexandre Louzada
Gera
2004 7th place Grupo Especial Lendas e mistérios da Amazônia Jorge Freitas
Gera
2005 13th place Grupo Especial Nós Podemos: Oito Idéias para Mudar o Mundo Amarildo de Mello
Nélson Ricardo
Bruno Ribas
2006 7th place Grupo Especial Brasil, Marca a tua Cara e Mostra para o Mundo Amarildo de Mello
Ilvamar Magalhães
Gilsinho
2007 8th place Grupo Especial Os deuses do Olimpo na terra do carnaval: uma festa dos esportes, da saúde e da beleza Amarildo de Mello
Cahê Rodrigues
Gilsinho
2008 4th place Grupo Especial Reconstruindo a Natureza, Recriando a Vida: O Sonho Vira Realidade Cahê Rodrigues
Gilsinho
2009 3rd place Grupo Especial E por falar em amor... Onde anda você? Lane Santana
Jorge Caribé
Gilsinho
2010 9th place Grupo Especial Derrubando fronteiras, conquistando a liberdade, um Rio de paz em estado de graça Amauri Santos
Alex Oliveira
Gilsinho
2011 Hors Concours Grupo Especial Rio, Azul da Cor do Mar Roberto Szaniecki
Gilsinho
2012 6th place Grupo Especial E o Povo na Rua Cantando. É Feito uma Reza, um Ritual... Paulo Menezes
Gilsinho
2013 7th place Grupo Especial Madureira... onde o meu coração se deixou levar Paulo Menezes
Gilsinho
2014 3rd place Grupo Especial Um Rio, de Mar a Mar. Do Valongo à Glória de São Sebastião Alexandre Louzada
Wantuir
2015 4th place Grupo Especial ImaginaRIO - 450 janeiros de uma cidade surreal Alexandre Louzada
Wantuir
Wander Pires
2016 3rd place Grupo Especial No voo da águia, uma viagem sem fim... Paulo Barros
Wantuir
Gilsinho
2017 Champion Grupo Especial Quem nunca sentiu o corpo arrepiar ao ver esse Rio passar... Paulo Barros
Gilsinho
2018 4th place Grupo Especial De Repente de Lá Pra Cá e Dirrepente Daqui Pra Lá... Rosa Magalhães
Gilsinho
2019 4th place Grupo Especial Na Madureira moderníssima, hei sempre de ouvir cantar uma Sabiá Rosa Magalhães
Gilsinho
2020 7th place Grupo Especial Guajupiá, terra sem males Renato Lage
Márcia Lage
Gilsinho
2022 5th place Grupo Especial Igi Osé Baobá Renato Lage
Márcia Lage
Gilsinho

Championships and awards

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Fans of GRES Portela cheering during parade

Portela is the record samba school of Carnaval titles of Rio de Janeiro, being general champion for 22 times: 1935, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1951 (UGESB), 1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1980, 1984 and 2017. The school got runner up honors in the following years: 1937, 1949, 1950, 1956, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1983, and 1995.

The school accumulates a total of 52 Estandarte de Ouro (Gold Standards), prize conceded by the newspaper O Globo:

  • 1972: Drum Block
  • 1973: Feminine notability (Tia Vicentina)
  • 1974: Ala (of baianas) and master of ceremonies (Bagdá)
  • 1975: Samba-enredo
  • 1976: School
  • 1977: Standard-bearer (Vilma Nascimento) and feminine dancer (Nega Pelé)
  • 1978: Standard-bearer (Vilma Nascimento) and masculine dancer (Jerônimo)
  • 1979: School, samba-enredo, ala (velha-guarda), standard-bearer (Vilma Nascimento), feminine dancer (Denise) and masculine dancer (Marcelo)
  • 1980: School, audience impact and feminine dancer (Nívea)
  • 1981: Best Front commission and samba-enredo
  • 1982: Best Front commission
  • 1983: Leading singer of the samba parade (Silvinho)
  • 1986: Best Drum Block, feminine notability (Dodô) and ala (Luxo do Lixo)
  • 1987: Samba-enredo
  • 1988: Masculine dancer(Gilson)
  • 1990: Feminine dancer (Solange Couto)
  • 1991: Samba-enredo, front commission, revelation (Patrícia) and ala (of queens)
  • 1995: School, samba-enredo and leading singer of the parade (Rixxa)
  • 1998: Samba-enredo and masculine dancer (Cláudio Lima)
  • 2001: Commission of front
  • 2004: Personality (Dodô)
  • 2005: Revelation (Bruno Ribas)
  • 2006: Revelation (Nilo Sérgio)
  • 2007: Revelation (Alessandra Bessa) and masculine dancer (Ruanderson)
  • 2008: Female dancer
  • 2010: Drum Block
  • 2012: Drum Block, leading singer of the parade, samba-enredo and best dancers (male and female)
  • 2013: Drum Block
  • 2014: Ala (Senior Women's')
  • 2015: Revelation (Alex Marcelino)
  • 2016: Personality (Monarco)

Notable Portelenses

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Cinema

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  • The film Natal da Portela (1988), by Paulo César Saraceni, tells the story of the underground lottery operator and school sponsor by the same name. [6]
  • In the film Um Ano Inesquecível – Verão (An unforgettble year - Summer) (2023), by Cris D'Amato, a young woman gets a job as a seamstress in Portela's samba school and discovers the world of carnival. [7]

Literature

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  • In the short story Amor de Carnaval, by Thalita Rebouças, from the collection Um Ano Inesquecível, (2015), a young woman gets a job as a seamstress in Portela's samba school and discovers the world of carnival. [8]

References

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  1. ^ Culture. "Portela samba group wins Rio carnival with political message".
  2. ^ a b c d (in Portuguese) Portelaweb
  3. ^ a b (in Portuguese) Official website
  4. ^ a b (in Portuguese) Apoteose
  5. ^ "Conselho Deliberativo da Portela reafirma apoio ao mandato de Luis Carlos Magalhães na escola". Carnavalesco. September 30, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  6. ^ "Natal da Portela". adorocinema.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  7. ^ "Prime Video anuncia início das filmagens de "Um Ano Inesquecível – Verão"". telaviva (in Portuguese). April 14, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  8. ^ "Resenha: Amor de Carnaval, Thalita Rebouças — Um Ano Inesquecível!". Exagere no rimel (in Portuguese). September 20, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
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