"I saw Praça Onze die, I saw all of this without complaining. But, fortunately, the samba remained The samba remained, no one can end it, For in it there lives a simple memory Of Praça Onze, of Lapa and of Favela" Excerpt from the song "O Samba não morre" by Marino Pinto and Arlindo Marques Jr.
In the first decades of the 20th century, Praça Onze established itself as one of the multicultural epicenters of post-abolition Rio de Janeiro. At the heart of the region known as “Pequena África,” a diverse population lived, with the Black community — mostly from Bahia — standing out. In this vibrant environment, the tias baianas — many of them ialorixás — became essential community leaders. From their homes were born spaces of resistance and creation, where African heritage was given new meaning through religiosity, music, and celebration. Urban Carioca samba flourished directly from these networks of sociability. Tia Ciata's house, on Rua Visconde de Itaúna, became the meeting point for musicians such as Pixinguinha, Donga, Heitor dos Prazeres, and Sinhô. There, African rhythms, Carioca lundus, and other influences merged. It was in that backyard that, in 1916, Pelo Telefone was born, considered the first samba song recorded on disc in Brazil. Praça Onze was also the birthplace of the samba schools' parades. After the creation of Deixa Falar in 1928, the journalist Mário Filho organized, in 1932, the first competitive parade at the site. For a decade, the square was the center of Carioca carnival, establishing the samba schools as one of the city's strongest cultural institutions. This vitality was abruptly interrupted in the 1940s. The demolition of Praça Onze, between 1941 and 1942, to make way for the opening of Avenida Presidente Vargas, was not merely an urban planning project, but also part of a process of erasing Afro-Brazilian history. In total, 525 buildings were demolished, displacing hundreds of families and dismantling one of the most symbolic regions of Black culture in Rio. Even so, the memory of Praça Onze remains alive — present in the Carioca imagination, in the Sambódromo built nearby, and, above all, in the strength of samba, which echoes as the indelible legacy of this territory.
Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a square with a central fountain, surrounded by trees. On the left side, there is a row of buildings of different heights, while the right side features a tree-lined path with palm trees. In the background, there is a wide road that stretches out to a distant mountain range. The image was taken during the day, with a clear sky and a few clouds. In the bottom left corner, there is a number and date: "6738-30-10-941".Praça Onze.
