Samba originated in the Afro-Brazilian urban communities of Rio de Janeiro, now known as favelas. communities in the north of Rio de Janeiro. The samba rhythms we know today were born in the 1920s in the Estácio neighborhood. Over time, the heavy percussion accelerated, and eventually, as samba became a national symbol, it evolved into a lyrical percussive dance that dominates the carnival.

Similar to the blues in America, samba was originally a product of the grief of slaves who came to Bahia, a region in northeastern Brazil. According to composer Caetano Veloso, “samba is the father of pleasure and the son of pain.

But its combination of music and passion turns sorrow into joy. It developed in Brazil in the early 1900s, in the favelas of Rio, with the first recorded version in 1917 (“Pelo Telefone” – “By Phone”).

The original form of samba is the samba de morro (morro means hill – this alludes to the slums located on the hillsides of Rio). Here, the oldest style of samba incorporated other musical genres of the city, such as polka, maxix, lunda and xote, creating a completely unique character.

There are various subgenres of samba, including samba enredo, which is performed by “samba schools” at the Rio Carnival. “Enredo” means “story” in Portuguese – this style is associated with singing stories.

As a festive dance music, samba plays a huge role in the celebration of Carnival in Brazil. Carnival is a huge party that takes over the streets a week before Lent. The samba band consists mostly of percussion instruments that play in syncopated rhythms, and there is call and response and imitation in the music.