"Oh, oh, oh, oh, Mangueira has arrived!"
One of the most popular and traditional samba schools in Rio de Janeiro, founded in 1928 on Morro da Mangueira, close to the now-deactivated Mangueira station.
Cartola no morro da Mangueira. Acervo Biblioteca Nacional
Here comes Estação Primeira de Mangueira!
But… Primeira de Mangueira, why? It's simple, it got this name because it was the first stop of the train that left Dom Pedro II station for the suburbs. Where there was samba, that was Mangueira!1
Karen, a student from class GTR301, wrote a poem to pay tribute to Mangueira. Check it out below!
My son, there's none like you, Made of this land and this ground A people of flesh, of race, the history marked by such miscegenation Of this scenery of yours, sage, save it, poetry
A night of samba after one more day and one more, Than what was long ago The white man got rich And after many questions, of filthy ideas The question that remains is who am I?
A toast to the tears that touched this land, That the pain of one day fertilized into happiness, And with the song of my flock, Oxalá, my father, I've been rectifying myself
And it is in this way, in the feeling of a heart I touch my chest, and shout with emotion To the sound of the drumbeat I hold in my hands
Your story of glory, oh Mangueira Green-and-pink is the color of your flag The festivals of the eternal celebration shine Axé, my father, of the joy that manifests itself And of the flame of love that remains with us
Original poetry by Karen Ignácio Ribeiro Rabello