<P> In Each school displays glamour in colorful costumes and floats with special effects and is organized into different segments or "alas". The "alas" represent different components of the school's theme, or "enredo", as they act out a homage to a myth, historic event or figure, or express their view on a social, environmental or international issue . The "alas" display distinct costumes or "fantasias" and also reflect traditional samba school roles developed years ago . Thus, each samba school parade has the "comissao de frente"; individuals who open the parade by walking in social attires, saluting the crowds; the "ala das Baianas", or the traditional segment of Bahian African - Brazilian ladies with impressive round dresses spinning through the avenue; the "puxadores" (lead singers) singing the "samba - enredo" or theme - song while they play the "cavaquinho" or other string instruments; the "velha guarda", or veterans who made history in the school; the "bateria", or samba band with drums, "cuicas" and other instruments, preceded by the "madrinha da bateria", or band godmother who is often a sexy female celebrity . The "porta - bandeira", or the female flag holder, and the "mestre - sala", or male cortsy, display and salute the school's flag, as they dance and strive to show harmony and samba expertise, as their performance is carefully observed and scored by the judges . </P> <P> "Cariocas", the Rio natives, and "Paulistanos", São Paulo natives, are overtaken with emotion while performing or watching their favorite school, much more so in Rio, where a carnival samba school culture has been developed since the 1930s and samba rehearsals, costume making, and planning is a year - round event . It is often said that a samba school slum dweller may not have a job or food on the table the whole year, but they will make sure they have the money for their costume to show their "samba no pe"' or dancing skills expertise . </P> <P> As samba schools originated in Rio de Janeiro, they are today the most famous ones and, arguably, produce the most spectacular parades or (as it is often said) the "greatest show on Earth". The city of São Paulo also has a number of samba schools with some tradition that is linked to an interesting mixture of African - Brazilian display of pride, immigrant or working class activism, and soccer team fondness, as schools such as "Gavioes da Fiel", "Mancha Verde" began as a singing / dancing group that cheered and rooted during matches in São Paulo stadiums . Nearly all Brazilian states have samba schools, but states such as Bahia and Pernambuco tend to have floats that lead a crowd composed of general people, without the need for membership, rehearsals or even a special attire . Some groups do charge a certain amount of money for the "abadás", or colorful T - shirts that display affiliation to a specific group, or "bloco". </P> <P> A significant majority of the samba schools, mainly in Rio de Janeiro, have in their name the words Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba (Recreative Guild Samba School), represented by the acronym GRES, before the name itself . In São Paulo there is a common variation Grêmio Recreativo Cultural e Escola de Samba (Recreative Cultural Guild and Samba School). There are exceptions, such as the Sociedade Rosas de Ouro (Golden Rose Society) and the traditional Agremiação Recreativa Cultural e Escola de Samba Vizinha Faladeira (grêmio and agremiação in Portuguese are synonyms). The standardization of the classifications of entities emerged in 1935 when the Rio carnival associations were required to take a charter to the Delegacia de Costumes e Diversões (Delegation of Customs and Entertainment) to be able to parade . In an effort to show a modicum of decency and organization, the delegate owner, Dulcídio Gonçalves, refused to grant the permit to associations with "inappropriate" names, which is why the GRES Portela had to change to the current name, instead of the previous Vai Como Pode (Come as You Will). </P>

Where and how do the samba schools perform each year