Cool Stuff: South American Music

 The Music of the Andes section inspired me to see which country help emerge South America to be so influential. According to BBC News, Brazil is said to be the most influential country to South America. To give more credit, Brazil's country profile includes the exploitation of the Amazon forest and its' diverse population, including indigenous Americans and descendants of African slaves/European settlers. These settlers brought along many ideas, innovations, beliefs, and African enslaved people who influenced the local cultures. The dominant language is Portuguese and not Spanish. 

The Music:

According to An Overview of the Music of Brazil article, Brazilian music is an Afro-European fusion. This was due to the Portuguese invading Brazil in 1500 and importing slaves for labor. A very big form of music includes Samba. It is worldwide recognized as a symbol of Brazil and Carnival. It is a form of music where dance is accompanied by small melodic phrases. Rio de Janeiro is one of the most popular scenes for Carnival to experience samba. 

Video of Facts:


Video of music: 


Samba music itself consists of a quick tempo and catchy rhythm while being used for dance. According to the WorldAtlas article "What is Brazilian Samba Dance?," some characteristics would be cultural identity and spread of what is like to be Brazilian. The dance transcends color and social class and is a an unifying element in Brazil. The dance as also been used for fitness and in competitions; sounds like something we digested in Native American culture with fancy dancing. 

Some aspects of her dancing is traditional yet adds a spicy flare of new age styles:


Background tidbits: 

The religious aspect of the Carnival festival stims from the roman Catholics. Calendar Labs explains that Carnival translates to "removal of meat." These roots are believed to be in the tradition of Roman Catholics when they abstained from meat and alcohol on certain days to drive away bad things in their lives. Back then, people would indulge in various activates that are fun to adults before the rebirthing period near Easter, or Lent. 

One of my favorite movies called Rio, introduced me to a very small glance at Brazilian culture. For those of you who have not seen it, the movie is basically about bird smuggling in Rio de Janeiro. The main male bird Blu is kidnaped there while trying to mate to save his species. It is a roller coaster of funny, sad, and triumphant moments. It shows lots of cultural aspects of every day people. It is a animation film for families with small children so I can understand. I do want to leave you with the loving feeling this movie gave to me in hopes that it inspires you to take a deeper dive in Brazil.




Comments

  1. Megan StribbleMarch 21, 2021 at 9:57 AM

    Hi Quiana! I loved learning about the Carnival- it sounds so fun to attend. The floats/costumes were very colorful and exaggerated. The Samba music was so catchy and I liked the beat, it was consonance. The Rio movie is one of my favorites. :)

    ReplyDelete

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