By Jack Arnhold, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On the evening of Monday, March 4th, samba school G.R.E.S. União da Ilha do Governador will compete in the Grupo Especial with their parade scheduled to begin at 12:30 AM. The group will present their ‘samba enredo’ (thematic samba composition) entitled, ‘A peleja poética entre Rachel e Alencar no avarandado do céu’ (The poetic battle between Rachel and Alencar in the avarandado of the sky) a tribute to the Brazilian state of Ceará and two of its most famous authors, José de Alencar and Rachel de Queiroz.
In a recent interview with O Globo, the school’s Carnavalesco (Carnival Designer) for this year, Severo Luzardo, comments on the love and appreciation that the state of Ceará has for these two particular authors. “This love can only be interpreted in an authentic way. It is a Ceará warrior, a glorious, powerful Ceará, that jumps out of the pages of these books.” He says, “I think we can authentically convey this incredible love with all the passion that Rachel and Alencar have in their writings.”
The composers of this year’s samba are Myngal, Marcelão da Ilha, Roger Linhares, Marinho, Cap. Barreto, Eli Doutor, Fernando Nicola and Marco Moreno. While Carnavalesco Severo Luzardo is returning for his third year in charge, having organized União da Ilha’s 2017 and 2018 parades, which finished in eighth and tenth place, respectively.
2017 saw the school present the story of the Angolan Bantu legends of the creation of the universe, which served as a reminder of Brazil’s African cultural heritage and ancestry, as well as conveying a message of the universal human connection to the planet and the importance of preserving our only home for future generations.
While last year saw União da Ilha present ‘Brasil Bom de Boca,’ a samba enredo dedicated to Brazil’s culinary traditions, including nods to the country’s Portuguese, Indigenous and African cultural influences.
The school has been participating in the Grupo Especial ever since they gained promotion in 2010, though they have never won the coveted Carnival championship. However, they have been twice-crowned champions of Série A (Access Group) in 1974 and 2009.
União da Ilha was founded by the friends Maurício Gazelle and Quincas Orphylo in 1953 after they noticed that the Ilha do Governador neighborhood didn’t have a proper unified samba school to represent them. Later on, they instead decided that the neighborhood of Cacuia should be represented by a samba school too, and this is currently where the school is based.
Though never one of the larger or more illustrious samba schools, União da Ilha have had their successes, coming in second in the Grupo Especial in 1980. They are also known for their ‘bateria’ (drum section) nicknamed 40 Graus (40 Centigrade). In addition, the school has a long-standing relationship with Portela, who in 1958 were officially declared the school’s ‘godparent.’