Vila Isabel is a middle-class neighborhood in the
North Zone of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, known for its music-themed Boulevard 28 de Setembro, which celebrates the neighborhood's long musical heritage. Many musicians like Almirante,
Braguinha, Henrique Brito and
Noel Rosa
Noel de Medeiros Rosa (December 11, 1910 – May 4, 1937) was a Brazilian songwriter, singer, and guitar/ mandolin player. One of the greatest names in Brazilian popular music, Noel gave a new twist to samba, combining its Afro-Brazilian roots ...
(who has a statue of him seated at a cafe table on the aforementioned boulevard) used to play in Vila Isabel. It is home to
Unidos de Vila Isabel
Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Unidos de Vila Isabel is a samba school in Rio de Janeiro. It was thrice champion of the Special Group and is currently headquartered in Boulevard 28 de Setembro in Vila Isabel.
The Unidos de Vila Isabel samba ...
, one of the most traditional
samba school
A samba school ( pt, Escola de samba) is a dancing, marching, and drumming (Samba Enredo) club. They practice and often perform in a huge square-Compound (enclosure), compounds ("quadras de samba") and are devoted to practicing and exhibiting sam ...
s in Rio de Janeiro.
The neighborhood was named in honor of Brazilian
Princess Isabel, renowned for abolishing Brazil slavery.
References
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Neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro (city)