1946

The samba school was founded by Mister China (Antônio Fernandes da Silveira), who had come from another samba school called Salgueiro. Their colors are blue and white and the group started out as a bloco (group that performs on the streets during carnival). In the carnival of 1946, the group decided to turn themselves into a samba school, adopting the name Unidos de Vila Isabel (a borough on the North side of Rio). In 1956, the school was upgraded (the carnival parade is also a competition, and works like soccer tournaments, where a team can ascend or descend), finally reaching the top group in 1965. Vila Isabel had its finest moment in 1988, when they won the parade with the theme "Kizomba - Festa da Raça", written by Rodolfo, Jonas and Luis Carlos and based on an idea by Martinho da Vila, the main composer of the school since the 60s. Nonetheless, Vila Isabel was never able to repeat the good results, and eventually got marked down in 2000.

Themes and scores:

1947 Escrava Rainha – 13th place
1948 Navios Negreiros – 6th place
1949 Iracema – 6th place
1950 Baía da Guanabara – 4th place
1951 Trabalhadores do Brasil – did not participate
1952 Paz, Esperança e Caridade – 11th place
1953 Did not participate
1954 Presente, Passado e Futuro – did not participate
1955 Obras da Natureza – 11th place
1956 Três Épocas – 2nd place
1957 Grande Baile da Ilha Fiscal – 16th place
1958 Riquezas do Brasil – 5th place
1959 Homenagem a Saldanha da Gama – 15th place
1960 Poeta dos Escravos – 1st place on Group 3
1961 A Imprensa Através dos Tempos – 4th place on Group 2
1962 Dom João VI – 8th place on Group 2
1963 Três Fatos Históricos – 4th place on Group 2
1964 Riquezas do Brasil – Exaltação à Bahia – 6th place on Group 2
1965 Epopéia do Teatro Municipal – 2nd place
1966 Três Acontecimentos Históricos – 4th place
1967 Carnaval de Ilusões – 4th place
1968 Quatro Séculos de Modas e Costumes – 8th place
1969 Iaiá do Cais Dourado – 5th place
1970 Glórias Gaúchas – 5th place
1971 Ouro Mascavo – 5th place
1972 Onde o Brasil Aprendeu a Liberdade – 6th place
1973 Zodíaco no Samba – 8th place
1974 Aruanã-Açu – 10th place
1975 Quatro Séculos de Paixão História do Teatro Brasileiro – 6th place
1976 Invenção de Orfeu – 6th place
1977 Ai que Saudades que Tenho – 5th place
1978 Dique o Mar do Amor – 10th place
1979 Os Dourados Anos de Carlos Machado – 1st place on Group 1B
1980 Sonho de um Sonho – 2nd place
1981 Dos Jardins do Éden à Era de Aquarius – 9th place
1982 Noel Rosa e os Poetas da Vila nas Batalhas do Boulevard – 10th place
1983 Os Imortais – 9th place
1984 Pra Tudo se Acabar na Quarta-Feira – 5th place
1985 Parece que foi ontem – 3rd place
1986 De alegria cantei, de alegria pulei, de três em três, pelo mundo rodei – 11th place
1987 Raízes – 5th place
1988 Kizomba Festa da Raça – 1st place - champion
1989 Direito é Direito – 4th place
1990 Se Esta Terra Fosse Minha – 10th place
1991 Luiz Peixoto, "E Tome Polca" – 11th place
1992 A Vila Vê Ovo e Põe às Claras – 12th place
1993 Gbalá Viajem ao templo da criação – 8th place
1994 Muito Prazer! Isabel de Bragança e Drummond Rosa da Silva, Mas Pode me Chamar de Vila – 9th place
1995 Cara ou Coroa As duas faces da moeda – 9th place
1996 A heróica cavalgada de um povo – 7th place
1997 Não deixe o samba morrer – 9th place
1998 Lágrimas, suor e conquistas, no mundo em transformação – 12th place
1999 João Pessoa, onde o Sol brilha mais Cedo – 11th place
2000 Eu sou Índio, eu também sou imortal! – 13th place