vila canoas is located in the zona sul of rio, next to the high-end neighborhood são conrado and close to both the favelas rocinha and vidigal .

created in the 1920', vila canoas was originally a small housing complex made up of wooden homes for the employees of the nearby gávea golf club.

the community started to expand in the 1940's when the families of the original settlers started to need and build their own housing in the area.

subsequently, villa canoas saw a rapid expansion in the 1970's and 1980's, due to the need for labor working in the development of the neighborhoods of são conrado, gávea ipanema, and leblon .