Mangueira is the third oldest favela, located in the Central Zone of Rio de Janeiro, and home to an estimated 20,000 residents and one of the most prolific Samba schools in the city. After Brazil became a Republic in 1889, and following the departure of the Royal Family, Quinta da Boa Vista was left an abandoned scrubland, which was gradually infiltrated by underprivileged immigrants and families of soldiers who were situated in the nearby barracks.

The population increased significantly in the 1930s with the arrival of miners from the Northeast of the country. The name 'Mangueira' has its origin in an old mango grove beside the train line in the early 20th Century.