And the winning samba school for Carnival 2012 in Rio de Janeiro is Unidos da Tijuca that had taken as its theme the late Brazilian singer-songwriter and poet, Luiz Gonzaga.
Gonzaga’s most famous song is “Asa Branca”, an absolute Brazilian classic that has been covered by many Brazilian singers, but none better or more authentic than by the man himself. Even David Byrne has recorded an English language version.
From the city of Recife in northeast of Brazil, Gonzaga was known as the “king of baião”, and was a master of the accordion.
Unidos da Tijuca scored 299.9 points from the official carnival jury with Salgueiro in second with 299.7, and Vila Isabel in third with 299.5. Uniao da Ilha, that had London as its theme, came eighth.
Unidos da Tijuca, under carnavlesco Paulo Barros, also won the title in 2010, but previous to that its only other title had been way back in 1936.
And the relegated schools this year, which won’t be in the top group in 2013, are Porto de Pedra and Renascer de Jacarepaguá.
