Samba
The Roots of Samba
Samba did not emerge from a single moment or a single genius. It grew — slowly, collectively, and under conditions of active cultural suppression — from the musical and ritual practices brought to Brazil by enslaved Africans from the Congo-Angola region, transformed across three centuries of forced displacement into something distinctively Brazilian.
The word samba itself may derive from semba, a word in Kimbundu (a Bantu language of central Angola) referring to an umbigada — the navel-touching gesture that invited a partner to dance.
"Samba is not what Brazil did with Africa. It is what Africans did with Brazil." — Attributed to musician Paulinho da Viola
The Family of Samba
Samba is not one thing. It is a family of related but distinct genres:
| Style | Origin | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Samba de Roda | Bahian Recôncavo | Circular, participatory, rooted in candomblé aesthetics |
| Samba-Enredo | Rio de Janeiro | Large-ensemble carnival compositions narrating an annual theme |
| Samba Carioca | Rio de Janeiro | Urban popular samba of the 1920s–40s |
| Pagode | Rio de Janeiro (1970s–80s) | Intimate, acoustic, community gathering format |
| Samba-Canção | National | Slower, lyrical samba ballad tradition |
| Axé / Samba-Reggae | Salvador (1980s–90s) | Samba fused with reggae and afrobeat influences |
The Escolas de Samba
The escolas de samba — samba schools — are the institutional heart of Rio carnival. They are not schools in the educational sense but community organisations, typically based in a specific favela or neighbourhood, that spend the entire year preparing for a single annual carnival performance.
The preparation involves:
- Composing an original samba-enredo (thematic samba)
- Designing and building elaborate allegorical floats (carros alegóricos)
- Creating costumes for thousands of participants across multiple alas (wings)
- Rehearsing the percussion section (bateria), flag-bearers, dancers, and puxadores (lead singers)
A major escola may have 3,000 to 5,000 participants in their carnival procession. The bateria alone may comprise 300 or more drummers playing in locked rhythmic unity.
The Major Escolas
The top-division escolas of Rio's Sambódromo include legendary organisations such as:
- Mangueira — founded 1928, one of the oldest and most beloved
- Portela — the school with the most championship titles historically
- Beija-Flor — known for spectacular, innovative productions
- Salgueiro — pioneered narrative escolas with Afro-Brazilian historical themes
Samba de Roda: The Soul of the Tradition
While Rio carnival samba commands global attention, samba de roda from the Bahian Recôncavo preserves the tradition's deepest roots. Performed in a circle (roda), it combines:
- Solo improvised dancing in the centre of the circle
- Call-and-response singing
- Hand percussion, the berimbau, and the atabaque drum
- The spontaneous invitation of other participants to dance
UNESCO recognised Samba de Roda do Recôncavo Baiano on its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008, acknowledging it as a primary source of the broader samba tradition.
The Threat of Gentrification
The communities in which samba was born and is most deeply lived — Rio's favelas, the port neighbourhood of Gamboa, the Recôncavo towns of Santo Amaro and Cachoeira — face severe economic pressures from real estate speculation, urban redevelopment, and the legacy of major international event preparation.
When samba community members are displaced from their neighbourhoods, the social infrastructure through which the tradition is transmitted and through which the escolas de samba function is severed. Samba can survive as a product; the question is whether it can survive as a community practice.