The Music of Brazil: Samba and Cultural Expression
"The musics of Brazil are as socially diverse and culturally mixed as its people. Yet, out of this assembly, sambain particular has emerged as a national cultural expression. Its combination of heterogeneous musical and cultural influences has enabled it to symbolise the buoyant diversity of the country itself. Samba is enacted most spectacularly in the Brazilian Carnival celebrations, which have captured the global imagination in its pulsating rhythms, its decadent revelry, its extroverted performativity and its extravagant exhibitionism. In the context of ‘World Music’, samba offers a powerful fusion of rhythm, dance and spectacle and, beyond its popularity on record and in performance, samba has become a staple popular music for parades, processions and even protest marches around the globe."