the patron is afoxé mahatma gandhi, indian leader and pacifist, and the colors of their clothing is always white and light blue, symbolizing peace and unity.          

interestingly, in rio's afro bloc filhos de gandhi women are permitted to participate, while salvador's filhos de gandhi is for men only.

in 1975 the first carioca bloco paraded and on that same year, on september 20th, the first recording was made - performing singer aurelino gervásio da encarnação and its group playing the acclaimed 'hino do afoxé filhos de gandhi', along with 'cantiga de ossãe', 'cantiga de exu', 'afoxé', 'cantiga de oxalá', and 'cantiga de omulu'.

the record was produced and distributed by the ministry of culture and education (ministério da cultura do brasil), as part of the programs to recognize and preserve the tradition of brazilian folklore.