The samba school Portela was elected the winner of the Rio de Janeiro carnival parade, after a wait of 33 years.
The judges gave Portela just 1 point more than the second place, Mocidade Independente.
Portela last won in 1984 and still continues to be the samba school with the highest number of titles compared to all other samba schools in Rio, with a total of 22.
This year’s theme chosen by Portela was the waters of the rivers, and there was a block honoring the 2015 collapse of the Mariana dam that sent a wall of mud through two states and ruined the Rio Doce. The costumes and floats based on the incident were mentioned by the judges as one of the main reasons for Portela’s victory.
Portela is home to some of the most popular samba artists in Brazil. President Luis Carlos Magalhães told reporters that his school’s victory was positive for everyone, even in a year marked by two accidents involving floats.
“This carnival parade needed Portela’s victory, we needed a good story to tell. All the samba schools are feeling good because Portela ended the 33-year drought,” said Magalhães.
He dedicated the victory to Marcos Falcon, his predecessor who was murdered last year while campaigning for the city council of Rio.