Samba Dancing - The Classic, National Style of Brazil

Samba is one of the most popular forms of musicNoel Rosa and the law student Ari Barroso Ari
and dance in Brazil. Moreover, It is widely viewed asBarroso is famous for composing ''Tarzan, the son of
Brazil's national musical style. The name semba (pleasethe taylor '' and ''Aquarela do Brasil''.
note the difference in spelling) most probably comesWith the radio other talented people like Francisco
from the Afro Brazilian "lundu"( XVIII century), alsoAlves, Orlando Silva and Carmen Miranda became
known as umbigada or batuque: a mixture of Africangreat samba idols in Brazil.
rhythym brought from the slaves of Angola whoIn 1929, a group of musicians led by Ismael Silva
lived in Bahia state.founded the first Samba School, Deixa Falar, in the
When the slaves were transferred to Vale doneighborhood of Estácio de Sá. They
Paraíba (XIX century) to work on coffeetransformed the musical genre to make it better fit
plantations, they brought the semba with them. Theythe carnival parade. In this decade, the radio spread
later moved to the National Capital; Rio de Janeiro,the genre's popularity all around the country, and with
and after the abolition of slavery semba gained itsthe support of the nationalist dictatorip;
own identity and gained rapid mainstream growth.Getúlio Vargas, samba became Brazil's "official
Whilst living in the carioca (carioca is a person frommusic".
Rio) districts of Gamboa and Saúde the freedIn the following years, samba has developed in
slaves introduced the African rhythym semba toseveral directions, from the gentle
Royalty. It used to be danced in the houses ofsamba-canção to the drum orchestras
Bahia's black ladies like Amélia, Ciata andwhich make the soundtrack of carnival parade. One
Prisciliana.This rhythym soon developed into what weof these new styles was the bossa nova, made by
know today as Samba, mixing with polca, maxixe andmiddle class white people. It got increasingly popular
xote.over time, with the works of João Gilberto and
The title "samba school" ("escola de samba")Antônio Carlos Jobim. In the sixties, Brazil was
originates from samba's formative years. The termpolitically divided, and the leftist musicians of bossa
was adopted by larger groups of samba performersnova started to gather attention to the music made
in an attempt to lend acceptance of samba and itsin the favelas. Many popular artists were discovered
performance; local campuses were often the practiceat this time. Names like Cartola, Nelson Cavaquinho,
performance grounds for these musicians andZé Keti and Clementina de Jesus recorded
"escola" gave early performers a sense of legitimacytheir first albums.
and organization to offset samba's somewhatIn the seventies, the samba got back on the radio
controversial social atmosphere.waves. Composers and singers like Martinho da Vila,
"Pelo Telefone" (1917), by Donga (Ernesto dosClara Nunes and Beth Carvalho dominated the hit
Santos) and Mauro Almeida, is generally consideredparade.
the first samba recording. Its great success carriedIn the beginning of the eighties, after having been
the new genre outside the black ghettos. Whosent underground due to styles like disco and Brazilian
created the music is uncertain, but it was mostrock, Samba reappeared in the media with a musical
probably the work of the group around Tia Ciata,movement created in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro.
among them Pixinguinha, João da Baiana, MauroIt was the pagode, a renewed samba, with new
de Almeida e Sinhô (José Barbosa dainstruments, like the banjo and the tantan, and a new
Silva- known as the King of Samba). This song waslanguage, more popular, filled with slang. The most
really created in a "roda de partido alto" by a grouppopular names were Zeca Pagodinho, Almir Guineto,
of high quality samba composers.Grupo Fundo de Quintal, Jorge Aragão, and
After the recording, Samba conquered theJovelina Pérola Negra.
phonographic market and with the inauguration of theTheir typical instruments are: repinique, caixa, surdo,
radio in 1922 the music would reach the middlechocalho, agogô, pandeiro.
classes in Rio.and the new style brought the talentsNowadays, samba is still one of the most popular
of middle class composers like the medical studentmusical genres in Brazil.