Brazilian Music

One topic I found the most interesting on this trip is music. One of my favorite things I have done on this trip is learned and practiced samba both in a class and at a club.  I like the way that samba can be a solo or partner routine because it allows everyone to participate. I think that reinforces the concept from our first class about the cordial man because Samba is an example of a public space being used as a celebration. One of our first nights a few of us went out with Tiago and Vanessa to a samba club with live music. It was a very tiny venue but everyone was having such an amazing time that it didn’t matter. Half of the floor was taken up by a live band and a singer with instruments that I had never seen before. I couldn’t tell what any of the songs meant, but from the way the women sang you could tell she was telling a story and it was more than just a song to dance to. Everyone in the club was a mix of partners and solo dancers all having a great time. When I think of a club I think of single people looking for someone to meet and dancing to impress with music that is no more than a catchy tune. Samba was so far from and more about having a good time together and connecting with the music. The experience was so refreshing and I am so thankful to have had a chance to be a part of it.           

We also learned about the funk styled songs that are now a huge part of Brazilian culture. The songs were all about the men having money and girls and partying a lot. We saw parts of the music videos which all had girls dressed in skimpy clothes and dancing provocatively. In my opinion, all of the songs we heard more or less sounded the same to me and all had the same theme of music video. All of the songs had become very popular on YouTube as well as through pirating. Unlike in the US, pirating music is considered a compliment since the music is for the people and the people can’t afford to buy anything. I thought that while the songs all seemed shallow, I could see the appeal in the artists since they came from a low income life and were able to make something for themselves. Last weekend I was able to go to a club with life Brazilian funk and it was so interesting to see. There were two men that went on and were rapping together completely in sync with songs that had the whole club hyped. I also noticed that there were people with video cameras in the club filming not only not performers but the audience dancing as well. My guess is their performance will be uploaded to YouTube or some other website for sharing so everyone can enjoy it. The music here has been amazing and made me feel like I was able to experience Brazil more because of it.