starting from these humble roots, a group of enthusiasts led by ivo da rocha decided to create a samba school to represent the são clemente street in the botafogo neighborhood. 

this happened in the 1940s, but only in 1962 the group would finally debut on the official events, earning a surprising 4th place in the third division - in two more years they would be the division's champion and ascend in the hierarchy of the festivities.

são clemente managed to get to the first division in 1967, but a lackluster result caused it to stay in the second and the third division until the second half of the 1980s.