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Brazil  Dominating South America, Brazil is the largest country on the continent. Its 150 million people represent a diverse population--with indigenous, African, and European roots that have long shaped a uniquely Brazilian musical heritage.
Portuguese conquerors forced native South Americans to work sugar cane plantations--harvesting what the Portuguese called "white gold." At the time of the Portuguese invasion an estimated 2-5 million native peoples populated the land that today constitutes Brazil. Five centuries later only two hundred thousand indigenous Brazilians remain. The Portuguese replaced these rapidly dying native workers with African slaves, so that by the 17th century there were 3.5 million Africans enslaved in Brazil. The city of Salvador de Bahia became the country's biggest slave port, sending slaves throughout Brazil and South America until slavery was abolished there in 1888. Today the population of Salvador is over eighty percent black and the entire state of Bahia shows the pervasive influence of African culture. It is to the abolition of slavery that Brazil's most internationally celebrated music owes its start. Ex-slaves flooded the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro, merging African, Caribbean, and European musical styles and leading to the conception of the samba--a combination of Spanish bolero and African rhythms. As the home of many blacks taken as slaves, Angola's musical and dance traditions are particularly evident in the samba. After the samba hit its peak in the 1930s, the more understated bossa nova garnered international attention in the 50s. In the 1960s, during a period of strict political repression that saw mass censorship, yet another hybrid form--Tropicalismo--developed. Blending traditional Brazilian music with Caribbean, jazz, and blues rhythms, Tropicalismo counts Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil as its stars. Contributed by Maggie Filler |
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 MARACATU The Rhythm that inspired Chico Science and the Mangue Beat Movement Afropop Worldwide explores Brazil's Neo-Tropicalia Movement Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabate & Gilberto Gil Winners at 2006 Grammys! Artists Featured at the Latin Alternative Music Conference 2009 |
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 Brazil: The Northeast-São Paulo Connection Brazil's Neo-Tropicalia Movement Carnaval in Brazil, A Visit to Recife for Porto Mu Music Mercado in Saldador de Bahia, Brazil The Brazilian Diaspora in the United States The Latin Alternative Music Conference 2009 in New York City |
Fifth Annual Globalquerque Set for September 25 & 26 National Geographic's New Music Initiative Brings Geography to Life |
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