In 1907, parade cars were introduced to the great festival, called 'Corsos', which are the predecessors of the floats which populate Rio's carnival today.

In the 1920s the idea of 'scolas de samba' developed, the first of which was Mangueira, but only in the 40s and 50s did these schools develop their unique theme songs, garb and floats.

Nowadays, all cariocas have their favorite carnival street band - often the one that represents their neighborhood and, in fact, in accordance with its roots, some of the greatest contributors to Rio carnival's festival are the poorer communities, or 'favelas' credited for creating some of the most gorgeous carnival floats and costumes in the world.