Samba is Brazil's "national rhythm," the foremost symbol of its culture
and nationhood. To the outsider, samba and the famous pre-Lenten
carnival of which it is the centerpiece seem to showcase the country's
African heritage. Within Brazil, however, samba symbolizes the racial
and cultural mixture that, since the 1930s, most Brazilians have come to
believe defines their unique national identity.
But how did Brazil become "the Kingdom of Samba" only a few decades
after abolishing slavery in 1888? Typically, samba is represented as
having changed spontaneously, mysteriously, from a "repressed" music of
the marginal and impoverished to a national symbol cherished by all
Brazilians. Here, however, Hermano Vianna shows that the nationalization
of samba actually rested on a long history of relations between
different social groups--poor and rich, weak and powerful--often working
at cross-purposes to one another.
A fascinating exploration of the "invention of tradition," The Mystery
of Samba is an excellent introduction to Brazil's ongoing conversation
on race, popular culture, and national identity.