Known to be plural and multicultural, the Carnival of Pernambuco – besides the various manifestations all over the state – stands out in the cities of Recife and Olinda.
The Clube das Pás has been mentioned in a few frevos, such as Voltei Recife [I Returned, Recife] composed by Luis Bandeira, who enriched the folklore of Northeast Brazil.
In Pernambuco there were over thirty of these societies which formed the genesis of Clube do Cupim, as many of its founding members had already actively participated in some of them.
It began as the Clube Regatas Ultramarino – Transmarine Regatta Club – with the initiative of Antonio João d’Amorim, later the Baron of Casa Forte. João d’Amorim was president of the Pernambuco Commercial Association several times, and directed the club he founded thirteen times.
In 1897, a group of rowers, captained by João Victor da Cruz Alfarra, created the ‘Recreio Fluvial’ (Fluvial Recreation) club, a society that rented boats that ran from the old Lingueta, in the Recife neighbourhood, to the Bathhouse, located on Pina.