The History of Samba. The Origins

Abstract

This review presents the work A History of Samba - The Origins by journalist and writer Lira Neto. In this new work, the author focuses on the samba, a musical genre that is almost synonymous with Brazilian identity. This review is aimed at bringing this story that is part of the history of Brazil to the attention of more people. The timespan addressed is the end of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century, so this story can also be read as a history of the poor in the first decades after the abolition of slavery. This was a difficult time for the lower classes, who spent these years attempting to become part of Brazilian society. Although this task was rather harsh, it was filled with much joy and creativity, which is something that has become an aspect that characterizes Brazilians. The Samba - musical expression that accompanies the people in their daily struggle for survival - is undoubtedly a stimulus, but it is also more than that; it is socialization, it is resistance, it is a lifestyle. Whoever reads this story will embark on a sonorous universe, that is human and welcoming. Here is an honest and serious study of a joyful cultural expression of Brazil.