samba schools have been part of the brazilian background for a long time, some of those which still exist can even trace their history back to the first half of the 20th century.

the famous g. r. e. s. império serrano (mountaineer empire) is one of such examples - founded in 1947, it originated on a group who would split from an earlier samba school and go on to create its own.

it is said that the director from the school of samba prazer da serrinha had a rather oppressive way of dealing with his dancers and artists, so this group, led by sebastião de oliveira decided it had enough, his initiative resulting in the foundation of the império serrano.