Authenticity and Brazilian National Identity: Samba

“The most famous Brazilian song and dance, musically characterized by 2/4 meter and interlocking, syncopated lines in melody and accompaniment” (McGowan and Pessanha 21), samba has become almost synonymous with Brazilian cultural expression. When introducing the musical traditions of Brazil in the 1950s, one radio announcer even stated, “Brazil is samba” (McCann 23). As the announcer’s statement exemplifies, samba emerged as a national icon in Brazil, a fulcrum about which the nation’s diverse cultural milieu of African and European descent could unite. However, the process through which samba came to represent the nation was not an immediate one but rather a gradual change as the country came to accept and in some cases even embrace its racial disparities. In this paper, I will discuss how samba evolved from a conglomeration of musical traditions into a symbol of authentic national identity and differing perceptions of a racial democracy through the incorporation of percussive instrumentation.

From the year 1538 to the end of the slave trade in 1850, four to five million Africans were imported to Brazil, bringing their native music, dance, languages, and religion along with them. This massive influx resulted not only in a racially mixed population through intermarriage with the white Portuguese, but also a heterogeneous culture, “one in which we can discern the coexistence, harmonious or not, of a plurality of traditions whose bases may be occupational, ethnic, or religious” (Vianna 21). Despite interracial marriage and the abolition of slavery in 1888, racism persisted in Brazil and the government persistently repressed public displays of Afro-Brazilian culture (McGowan and Pessanha 12). Indeed, throughout the early period of samba’s history, the state feared the “potentially subversive group solidarity engendered by informal musical or religious gatherings” (Shaw 10). However, the eventual shift of perspective on samba from threat to national emblem would hit...