Samba and the Afro-Brazilian favela communities

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the relationship between samba and the Afro-Brazilian favela community. To achieve this, a thorough literature review was conducted and the responses of six people involved in the wider samba community to questions on the subject of study were examined. This study shows that a symbiotic relationship between samba and the favela has evolved over the past century. Just as samba depended on the tenacity of the Afro-Brazilians living in the favelas to survive police persecution in the early years, so these communities depended and continue to depend on samba as a political, educational and unifying tool. Afro-Brazilian culture is passed on through the oral tradition of samba and its importance has recently been recognized by both UNESCO and the Brazilian government, as an intangible heritage. Contributing to the extensive literature that exists on samba, are the voices of my participants, who discussed the topics of the relationship between the favela and samba, samba as a symbol of national identity, samba as an industry and current threats to samba. The latter is a relatively new topic, which deserves further exploration. This thesis shows that the relationship between the favela and samba is indeed very strong. Samba culture reinforces community and the favela community supports the production and perpetuation of samba culture.