they decided to have a more open and egalitarian approach to organization and decision-making - this prompted the group's admirers to define it as being the 'democratic' school of samba, an epithet which stuck and today is still a hallmark of the império's specific personality.

this group met incredible initial success, being the champion of carnival on the first four years after its inception.

this victorious trend continued for several decades - when the group didn't win the carnival, it would still classify among the very best, with only a few exceptions.