SALGUEIRO 1993
Peguei um Ita no Norte (Explode Coraçao)
Carnival Placing:
WINNER
About
The 1993 enredo, "Peguei um Ita no Norte" (I took an "Ita" in the North), is widely considered the most explosive and emotionally charged performance in the history of the Rio Sambadrome. Inspired by a song by the legendary Dorival Caymmi, the parade chronicled the journey of the "Itas"—the coastal steamships that transported passengers from Northern Brazil down to Rio de Janeiro. It was a narrative of migration, longing, and hope, tracing the path of those who left the Amazon and the Northeast to bring their culture, flavors, and dreams to the capital of Samba.
Visually, the school—led by carnavalesco Mário Borriello—achieved a perfect balance between grandiosity and folk authenticity. The floats were massive, depicting the bustling ports of Belém and Recife, the religious fervor of the Círio de Nazaré, and the lush, untamed beauty of the tropical landscapes. The costumes were vibrant and moved with a rhythmic fluidity that made the entire school look like a churning sea. It was a visual love letter to the "hidden" Brazil, showcasing the strength of the people who built the country’s modern identity with their own hands.
The defining characteristic of this parade, however, was the sheer scale of the audience's reaction.
The samba-enredo featured the legendary "Explode Coração" chorus, which acted like a lightning strike on the stadium. For the first time in history, the boundary between the performers and the spectators completely dissolved; the entire crowd of 60,000 people stood up, waved their shirts, and sang at a volume that literally shook the concrete structures of the Sambadrome. It remains the ultimate example of a "perfect" Carnival moment, where technical precision met raw, uncontrollable human emotion.
Result: 1st Place (Champion)
Trivia: The "heart" on the main float actually featured a mechanical system to make it "beat," but the roar of the crowd was so loud that the operators inside the float couldn't hear the music and had to coordinate their movements by watching the vibration of the floor.