What is the name of the first official samba school in Rio de Janeiro?

The first official samba school in Rio de Janeiro is generally identified as Deixa Falar. Founded in the Estácio neighbourhood in 1928, it helped establish the identity and structure of the modern samba school.

The group was associated with influential samba musicians including Ismael Silva, Baiaco, and Heitor dos Prazeres. Ismael Silva is credited with popularising the comparison to a school because the association was imagined as a place full of teachers of samba.

The label “official” needs a little care. Deixa Falar was often described as a bloco during its short existence and did not enter Rio’s first formal samba-school contest in 1932. Nevertheless, historians and carnival institutions widely regard it as the pioneering group and the first created under the title escola de samba.

Deixa Falar disbanded in 1933, later merging into União do Estácio de Sá. Its legacy survives through Estácio de Sá, which presents itself as the cradle of samba.