The oldest permanently active Samba school in Rio de Janeiro attracts people from all walks of life to popularize Brazil's Samba Carnival by offering Samba lectures and organizing preparations.

Every year in the second half of February, millions of people gather in Rio de Janeiro to witness the Samba Carnival.
The annual carnival parade is the most important event for Samba schools around Brazil. Every year, major schools spend several months designing themes, holding song competitions, building floats, and rehearsing.
In Rio de Janeiro, Samba schools are mainly related to impoverished areas and to the daily lives of slum dwellers.
This tradition makes Rio's Samba schools a place for almost everyone.
Portela, Brazil's oldest permanently active Samba school, is the only one to have taken part in all the city's carnival parades and is in the middle of busy preparations for this year's parade.
Twice a week, people from all walks of life gather here for different reasons to dance the night away. Even with no prior experience, pupils can still make a start here under the guidance of the instructors.
"My name is Vera Maria Ferraz. I'm 66 years old and retired."
"I'm 21 years old, I'm a nurse."
"My name is Gabriel. I'm 26 years old. I started dancing from childhood. Samba saved me after the loss of my mother in 2017."
"My name is Taina, I'm 28 years old and I'm a history teacher. I started classes last week. I really hope that I can learn how to dance samba and bring it to other people."
For those who enjoy Samba, it is a love for life.
"Samba transcends barriers and doesn't depend on age. You can dance Samba from 5 years old and as long as your heart beats," said Nilce Francisca Da Silva, the principal of Portela Samba Dance School
For the carnival designers and artists, Samba schools are the place that make their dreams come true.
"Samba schools work to ensure that the dreams of the artists and the carnival designers become a physical reality, and they play a role for all the people, all the community," said Junior Schall, a carnival director.
Thanks to these schools, Samba and Samba Carnival are becoming increasingly welcomed in Brazil and around the world. According to data, in 2023, the Samba Carnival attracted approximately 46 million Brazilian and international participants, bringing in approximately 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in revenue.