the highest accolade a brazilian samba school can receive is the victory at the carnival of rio de janeiro - and, when it comes to winning titles at the carnival, no one has been more successful than the portela samba school, with 21 victories.

founded in the 1920's, in rio's northern neighborhood of madureira, portela is one of rio's most traditional samba schools - portela's success came mainly in the first half of the 20th century, with the 1940's considered their greatest decade, and marking their 'seven years of glory', stretching from 1941 to 1947.

portela is an active part of local community, and regularly participates in the cultural activities of the city, taking its social responsibilities seriously.