The Samba

The Samba is an important musical and dance style in Brazil. Developed in the 19th century, it merged African rhythms with European harmonies. Many individuals point out the similarities between this genre and African styles. For instance, the samba is performed as a community, very like African music. The samba also occurs in a circle, this is identical to African circle dances. Salvador, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro are noted as some of the most influential places for developing the Samba. Salvador, Bahia was a slave city, the first capital of Brazil, and closest to the African content. Because of this, the population was more African here than in other parts. Another important city in the development of the samba was Rio de Janeiro. Rio de
In Brazil, a key part of cultural identity is tied to socioeconomic status. In class, we discussed the development of Morros, which were underdeveloped slums on the hillsides of Brazil. The morros, which were more culturally African, were not financially wealthy but were culturally wealthy. The music that was developed here was often envied by the higher class, and upper class musicians would often buy music from musicians in the morros. As a national music, Samba developed to become the unofficial music of Carnival. Carnival is four days before Lent, and a time to relax, engage in luxuries, for the classes to directly interact. The process of combining different classes, even for a limited time, created a sort of cultural blending. Carnival is characterized by annual parades where communities come together to create extravagant performances. These performances usually include Afro-Brazilian dances, percussion instruments, parades, costumes, and marching. These performances are often judged competitions, where individuals from Samba schools incorporate music, dance, costumes, and floats which they create specifically for
Popular artists would take regional music and alter it to be more appealing to a wider audience. There was a strong backlash from musical purists to avoid American influences such as rock and jazz. This was because these individuals wanted a music that was authentic to Brazilian national identity. During the initial use of this term in the 60s, this music was classified as being influenced from traditional Brazilian music coupled with the use of acoustic instruments. As discussed in the chapter two, MPB in the 1960s was often characterized by sophisticated and political lyrics that critiqued Brazil’s government. A large component of this involves criticisms of censorship from the government. Despite censorship, MPB became a large part of Brazilian