GRES Beija-Flor de Nilópolis
Encyclopedia
The Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Beija-Flor is a Samba school
headquartered in the municipality of Nilópolis
, Baixada Fluminense
, in the state of Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil.
of Nilópolis. The name was inspired by the ranch Beija-Flor that existed in the city of Marquês de Valença
. The idea emerged from a group formed by Milton de Oliveira (Negão da Cuíca), Edson Vieira Rodrigues (Edinho do Ferro Velho), Helles Ferreira da Silva, Mário Silva, Walter da Silva, Hamilton Floriano, and José Fernandes da Silva. But it was the mother of Negão da Cuíca, Dona Eulália, that suggested the name of the school. Because of that, she became admitted as the founder of the school. Only in 1953, the bloco, that became victorious in the neighborhood, was renamed G.R.E.S. Beija-Flor de Nilópolis. The school then first paraded officially in 1954 for the Second Group, when it obtained first place.
The history of the school, that has as a symbol the hummingbird
(which in Portuguese is called Beija-flor), could be divided into two historical parts: after and before Joãosinho Trinta. Joãosinho Trinta took on the school in 1976 with the samba-enredo
(plot) in honor to the jogo do bicho
(illegal type of gambling in Brazil). The parades signed by him became so anthological that even when he did not win he left a mark in the avenue. That is what happened in 1989 when the school, known by its luxurious rows and floats, surprised the public with the plot Ratos e urubus, larguem a minha fantasia ("Rats and vultures, release my clothes") bringing to the Sambódromo cars and rows full of trash, beside the famous covered Cristo Redentor
. It was on that year that Beija-Flor became vice-champion, but Joãosinho was considered by some people the righteous champion of the parade. .
During the 1990s, the school was always placed in the first places, being that in the period of 2003/05 it conquered its second trichampionship. In 2007 it won again, this time with a considerable difference of points from the second placed. Months after the Carnaval, the Brazilian Federal Police
, during the Hurricane Operation, imprisoned, among others, the patron of the school, Anísio Abraão David
, and also a large amount of money that, according to the official was responsible for the operation, would be used to buy judges for the parades and like that guarantee the victory of Beija-Flor. Later, a CPI (Parlamental Commission of Inquiry) was installed in the City Council of city of Rio de Janeiro. It did not prove that the alleged kits were for only the voting maps and the police officer that affirmed such fraud refused to attend to testify in CPI.
For 2008, the Commission of Carnaval chose the plot "Macabapá: Equinócio Solar, viagem fantástica ao meio do mundo" and conquered its 11th title.
Samba school
A samba school is a club or dancing school. They practice and often perform in huge square-compounds devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an African-Brazilian dance. The schools are traditionally associated with a particular neighborhood, often shanty towns...
headquartered in the municipality of Nilópolis
Nilópolis
Nilópolis is a city and a municipality in Brazil, located in the Rio de Janeiro state's southwestern region, bordering São João de Meriti, Mesquita and Rio de Janeiro. It is the smallest municipality in Rio de Janeiro state, with a total area of 19.39 km². The population of 157,483 inhabitants...
, Baixada Fluminense
Baixada Fluminense
The Baixada Fluminense is a region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between the city of Rio de Janeiro to the south and the Serra dos Órgãos hills to the north, and bordering on Guanabara Bay. Its government is separate from that of the city of Rio de Janeiro, but depending on the writer it...
, in the state of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
, Brazil.
History
The Beija-Flor was formed on December 25, 1948 by a carnivalesque blocosBlocos
Blocos are the street bands and groups that are the main popular expression in Rio de Janeiro Carnival in Brazil. These demonstrations are mixed under the term "street carnival", a term that still includes the bandstands and parades at Rio Branco Avenue, and happen during a period of about one...
of Nilópolis. The name was inspired by the ranch Beija-Flor that existed in the city of Marquês de Valença
Valença, Rio de Janeiro
Valença is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 71,894 and its area is 1,305 km². The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Valença....
. The idea emerged from a group formed by Milton de Oliveira (Negão da Cuíca), Edson Vieira Rodrigues (Edinho do Ferro Velho), Helles Ferreira da Silva, Mário Silva, Walter da Silva, Hamilton Floriano, and José Fernandes da Silva. But it was the mother of Negão da Cuíca, Dona Eulália, that suggested the name of the school. Because of that, she became admitted as the founder of the school. Only in 1953, the bloco, that became victorious in the neighborhood, was renamed G.R.E.S. Beija-Flor de Nilópolis. The school then first paraded officially in 1954 for the Second Group, when it obtained first place.
The history of the school, that has as a symbol the hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
(which in Portuguese is called Beija-flor), could be divided into two historical parts: after and before Joãosinho Trinta. Joãosinho Trinta took on the school in 1976 with the samba-enredo
Samba-enredo
Samba-enredo is a sub-genre of Samba in which songs are performed by a samba school for the festivities of Carnaval. "Samba-enredo" is the Portuguese equivalent of "samba in song", or "song samba"....
(plot) in honor to the jogo do bicho
Jogo do Bicho
Jogo do Bicho is an illegal gambling game in Brazil, prohibited by federal law since 1946. Very popular throughout the country, the "game" is actually a lottery-type drawing operated on a regional basis by mobsters known as contraventores , bicheiros or banqueiros...
(illegal type of gambling in Brazil). The parades signed by him became so anthological that even when he did not win he left a mark in the avenue. That is what happened in 1989 when the school, known by its luxurious rows and floats, surprised the public with the plot Ratos e urubus, larguem a minha fantasia ("Rats and vultures, release my clothes") bringing to the Sambódromo cars and rows full of trash, beside the famous covered Cristo Redentor
Christ the Redeemer (statue)
Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is tall, including its pedestal, and wide. It weighs 635 tonnes , and is located at the peak of the Corcovado...
. It was on that year that Beija-Flor became vice-champion, but Joãosinho was considered by some people the righteous champion of the parade. .
During the 1990s, the school was always placed in the first places, being that in the period of 2003/05 it conquered its second trichampionship. In 2007 it won again, this time with a considerable difference of points from the second placed. Months after the Carnaval, the Brazilian Federal Police
Brazilian Federal Police
The Polícia Federal is the federal police force of Brazil subordinate to the Ministry of Justice, whose main assignments are the investigations of crimes against the Federal Government or its organs and companies, the combat of international drug trafficking and terrorism, and immigration and...
, during the Hurricane Operation, imprisoned, among others, the patron of the school, Anísio Abraão David
Anísio Abraão David
Anísio Abraão David, better known as Anísio, is an illegal lottery operator and the honorary president of the samba school Beija-Flor in Nilópolis. He has been the president of the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro from 1985-1987.-Bicheiro:Anísio controlled the game in...
, and also a large amount of money that, according to the official was responsible for the operation, would be used to buy judges for the parades and like that guarantee the victory of Beija-Flor. Later, a CPI (Parlamental Commission of Inquiry) was installed in the City Council of city of Rio de Janeiro. It did not prove that the alleged kits were for only the voting maps and the police officer that affirmed such fraud refused to attend to testify in CPI.
For 2008, the Commission of Carnaval chose the plot "Macabapá: Equinócio Solar, viagem fantástica ao meio do mundo" and conquered its 11th title.
Results
In total, Beija-Flor won 12 of the parades of the Carnaval of Rio de Janeiro, in the years of: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2011. It was vice-champion other 10 times, in the years of: 1979, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. With the departure of Joãosinho Trinta, after the Carnaval of 1992, the school tried Maria Augusta and the young Milton Cunha as carnival producers. But only with the creation of the Commission of Carnaval in 1998, the school returned to win championships. Nowadays, the Commission of Carnaval of Beija-flor is composed by: Laíla, Alexandre Louzada, Fran Sérgio, and Ubiratan Silva.Famous fans
- Cláudia Raia
- Edson Celulari
- Roberto Carlos (singer)Roberto Carlos (singer)Roberto Carlos Braga is a Grammy Award-winning Brazilian singer and composer, who has achieved a great deal of success and recognition in his 50 year career, also known as King of Latin Music....
- ZicoZicoArthur Antunes Coimbra , better known as Zico , is a Brazilian coach and former footballer. He is the current head coach of the Iraq national football team. Often called the "White Pelé", he is commonly considered one of the most skilled finishers and one of the best passers ever and possibly the...
- Wagner Montes
Classifications
| Beija-Flor de Nilópolis | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| font color="003399">Place | Group | Plot | Carnival Producer | ||||||
| 1984 | 3th place | Special | O gigante em berço esplêndido | Joãosinho Trinta | |||||
| 1985 | Vice-Champion | Special | A lapa de Adão e Eva | Joãosinho Trinta | |||||
| 1986 | Vice-Champion | Special | O mundo é uma bola | Joãosinho Trinta | |||||
| 1987 | 4th place | Special | As mágicas luzes da Ribalta | Joãosinho Trinta | |||||
| 1988 | 3th place | Special | Sou negro, do Egito à liberdade | Joãosinho Trinta | |||||
| 1989 | Vice-Champion | Special | Ratos e Urubus, larguem minha fantasia | Joãosinho Trinta | |||||
| 1990 | Vice-Champion | Special | Todo Mundo Nasceu Nu | Joãosinho Trinta | |||||
| 1991 | 4th place | Special | Alice no Brasil das maravilhas | Joãosinho Trinta | |||||
| 1992 | 7th place | Special | Há um ponto de luz na imensidão | Joãosinho Trinta | |||||
| 1993 | 3th place | Special | Uni-duni-tê, a Beija-flor escolheu: é você | Maria Augusta | |||||
| 1994 | 5th place | Special | Margareth Mee, a Dama das Bromélias | Milton Cunha | |||||
| 1995 | 3th place | Special | Bidu Sayão e o Canto de Cristal | Milton Cunha | |||||
| 1996 | 3th place | Special | Aurora do povo Brasileiro | Milton Cunha | |||||
| 1997 | 4th place | Special | A Beija-Flor é Festa na Sapucaí | Milton Cunha | |||||
| 1998 | Champion | Special | O mundo místico dos Caruanas nas águas do Patu-Anu | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 1999 | Vice-Champion | Special | Araxá, Lugar Alto Onde Primeiro Se Avista o Sol | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2000 | Vice-Champion | Special | Brasil, um coração que pulsa forte. Terra de todos ou de ninguém? | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2001 | Vice-Champion | Special | A saga de Agotime – Maria mineira Naê | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2002 | Vice-Champion | Special | O Brasil dá o ar de sua graça de Ícaro a Rubem Berta – O ímpeto de voar | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2003 | Champion | Special | O povo conta a sua história: "saco vazio não pára em pé". A mão que faz a guerra faz a paz. | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2004 | Champion | Special | Manôa – Manaus – Amazônia – Terra Santa: Alimenta o corpo, equilibra a alma e transmite a paz | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2005 | Champion | Special | O vento corta as terras dos pampas. Em nome do Pai, do Filho e do Espírito guarani. Sete Povos na fé e na dor... Sete missões de amor. | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2006 | 5th place | Special | Poços de Caldas derrama sobre a Terra suas águas milagrosas: do caos inicial à explosão da vida, a nave mãe da existência | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2007 | Champion | Special | Áfricas, do berço real à corte brasileira | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2008 | Champion | Special | Macapaba – Equinócio Solar. Viagens fantásticas ao meio do mundo | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2009 | Vice-Champion | Special | No chuveiro da alegria, quem banha o corpo lava a alma na folia | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2010 | 3rd place | Special | Brilhante Ao Sol Do Novo Mundo, Brásilia: Do Sonho Á Realidade, A Capital da Esperança | Commission of Carnaval | |||||
| 2011 | Champion | Special | Roberto Carlos: A Simplicidade de um Rei | Commission of Carnaval | |||||