On February 4, 1978, about 75 people dressed as souls took the streets of the São José neighborhood, central Recife. With their bags of confetti and streamers, they were accompanied by a frevo orchestra composed of 22 musicians. Thus was born the Clube das Máscaras o Galo da Madrugada (Club of the Masks the Cock of the Dawn), which parade at sunrise before the city center stores.

The Galo da Madrugada received an international recognition: the Guinness Book consecrated the group as "the largest carnival group on the planet" when 1.5 million revelers paraded through the Recife city center streets.

On February 19, 2009, the first year that the bloco paraded without the supervision of Enéas Freire, the Legislative Assembly of Pernambuco approved and consecrated the Galo da Madrugada as Intangible Cultural Heritage of the State.

On December 19, 2017, the Galo da Madrugada was awarded the Medal of the Order of Cultural Merit 2017, the highest honor given by the Federal Government to recognize contributions given to the culture of Brazil. The ceremony took place in the Planalto Palace, in Brasília.

The parade has grown and begins punctually at 9:00 am on the Saturday of Zé Pereira (Carnival Saturday) finishing around 18:30. With 9h30 of duration, the number of staff to run the parade has also grown, each year, are directly involved: - 30 trios elétricos, - 30 bands / frevo orchestras, - 10 support cars, - 6 carnival floats, - 200 parade directors / coordinators, - about 2,200 support people, - 37 people in the headquarters of the bloco, - 128 in the production of trios elétricos, - about 1000 artists among singers, musicians, and dancers, - about 750 people of support in the VIP cabins which offer a privileged view of the parade, mainly for the tourists; - 312 giant dolls and flag carrier; - 97 extras staff. Besides, the production for the Galo da Madrugada parade creates an opportunity to generate income for thousands of people in various sectors. In the design and realization of the allegories, there are 31 professionals, including set designers, painters and craftsmen, who work from September 2016 until the day of the parade. In the production of costumes for the Galo (about 300), since November 2016, an average of 36 professionals, including seamstresses, embroiderers, and stylists, have mobilized to create the pieces. In addition to the costumes made directly for the Galo da Madrugada, thousands of other festive clothing are produced by people, families and commercial stores to meet the revelers' needs who traditionally parade costumed in the Galo. This process generates income for the state of Pernambuco. Over the course of these 40 years, the Galo served as an inspiration to many other blocos. Besides those who were not informed, there are some who have notified the Galo about their origins. Some of them are: Over the course of these 40 years, the Galo served as an inspiration to many other blocos. Beside those who were not informed, there are some who have notified the Galo about their origins. Some of them are: • Galo de Manaus, • Capote da Madrugada, • Galinho de Genipabu, • Muriçocas de Miramar, • Pinto de la madrugada (Maceió), • Galo da madrugada do Río de Janeiro, • Galinha da tarde, • Galinho de Brasília, • Galo de Gaias, • Galo da Meia Noite, • Galo de Porto (Porto Alegre), • Galo da Neve (Quebec - Canadá), • Galo de Perú (Lima- Perú). The Galo da Madrugada generates more than 4,500 direct income generation opportunities and about 30 thousand indirect. Every year thousands of people (such as seamstresses, street vendors, VIP cabin builders, hotel chains, taxi drivers, restaurants, snack bars, tour guides, security guards, etc.) benefit from the majestic Galo da Madrugada parade. The participation of about 2 million revelers who enjoy democratically without any distinction of color, creed, social class, and sexual orientation.