AcademicsofSalgueiroSambaSchool

The Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Acadêmicos do Salgueiro was born on March 5, 1953, from the merger of the two samba schools of Morro do Salgueiro: "Azul e Branco" and "Depois eu Digo."

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of two women dancing at a festive event. The woman on the left is wearing a white costume and a flower crown, holding a sign that reads "J.A. do Salgueiro." She is raising an arm with a white glove. The woman on the right is wearing a floral costume and also wears white gloves. Both are on a stage, with a row of flags in the background.

Over almost 70 years, the school has achieved great results - having been carnival champion 9 times. In the workshop, many carnavalescos stood out, such as Noel Rosa de Oliveira, Anescarzinho, Geraldo Babão, and Djalma Sabiá. One of them, Nelson de Andrade, was the creator of the motto "Nem melhor nem pior, apenas uma escola diferente" ("Neither better nor worse, just a different school").

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a nighttime procession. The image shows a crowd of people dressed in festive costumes, dancing and holding white parasols. The participants are arranged in rows, with the parasols spread out along the route. In the background, there are lit-up buildings, suggesting that the procession is taking place in a city.

Always innovating, Salgueiro changed Rio's carnival by presenting themes different from those seen in the 1950s/60s, such as "O navio negreiro" (1957), about the trafficking of enslaved Africans to Brazil; and "Viagem histórica pitoresca ao Brasil" (1959), about the painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, who came to Brazil together with the French Artistic Mission in 1816.

The samba school has many famous sambas, but the most sung is "Peguei um Ita no norte," better known as "Explode coração":

Explode coração Na maior felicidade É lindo o meu Salgueiro Contagiando, sacudindo essa cidade

In 1993, with this samba, Salgueiro was hailed by the people as champion of Rio's carnival.

Image description: This is a photograph of a carnival parade. The image shows a large floating float with the word "ITA" prominently displayed, positioned in the center of the arena. To the left and right of the float, there are crowds of people dressed in white and red costumes, dancing and celebrating. In the background, the audience is seated in illuminated stands, watching the event. At the top of the image, there is a sign with the word "BRAHMA."