Estácio de Sá is the Rio de Janeiro samba school based in Estácio and associated with the legacy of Deixa Falar.
The school’s history is tied to the Estácio neighborhood, one of the foundational areas of urban samba. Deixa Falar, widely regarded as the first samba school, emerged there in 1928. Later organizational changes and successor groups eventually led to the modern Estácio de Sá school.
Estácio de Sá’s name honors Estácio de Sá, the Portuguese military commander who founded the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1565. This creates a common mix-up: the school is named for the city’s founder, but its samba identity comes from the Estácio neighborhood and its pioneering musical heritage.
The school is not the same organization as Deixa Falar in a simple uninterrupted form. It is better understood as a later school carrying forward Estácio’s samba-school tradition and historical memory.