The sport analogy makes it easy to explain: pretty much like baseball teams in The United States or Rugby teams in Australia. Every neighborhood has its own Samba School and they thrive to go up the ladder making it a spot year after year in a better-categorized league, just like the soccer teams do in European football championships.
Some of the most famous Samba schools in Rio are Imperatriz, Portela, Beija-Flor, Uniao da Ilha, Salgueiro, Grand Rio, Porto da Pedra, Vila Isabel, Sao Clemente, Mocidade, Mangueira and Unidos da Tijuca. You can visit any of these schools to attend their Samba nights almost free of cost. The Samba schools usually function in two locations; the Samba halls are the location for Samba nights and all activities related to the school’s administration, the other location is the production unit where costumes and floats are produced.
Get to know the samba schools, their samba songs, colors, flags and much more: