before carnival fever had taken siege of rio de janeiro, it was the community around mangueira that pioneered some of the first traditions of the festival - in 1929, estação primeira de mangueira samba school was formed to represent the neighborhood, making it one of the oldest samba schools in the city.

proud of their roots, mangueira incorporates a fusion of african nations, indigenous influences, and european culture into their parades. mangueira is considered the most popular in brazil, with famous fans including the late tom jobim, and maradonna - when locals are asked to name a samba school, the firts that comes to mind is mangueira.