Samba

Samba is a Brazilian musical genre and dance style originating in Brazil, with its
roots in Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions,
particularly Angola and the Congo. Although there were various forms of samba in
Brazil in the form of various popular rhythms and regional dances that originated
from the drumming, samba as music genre is seen as a musical expression of urban
Rio de Janeiro, then the capital of Imperial Brazil.
It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival.
Considered one of the most popular Brazilian cultural expressions, samba has become
an icon of Brazilian national identity. The Bahian Samba de Roda (dance circle),
which became a UNESCO Heritage of Humanity in 2005, is the main root of
the samba carioca, the samba that is played and danced in Rio de Janeiro.
The modern samba that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century is
predominantly in a 2/4 tempo varied with the conscious use of a sung chorus to
a batucada rhythm, with various stanzas of declaratory verses. Traditionally, the
samba is played by strings (cavaquinho and various types of guitar) and various
percussion instruments such as tamborim. Influenced by American orchestras in
vogue since the Second World War and the cultural impact of US music post-war,
samba began to use trombones, trumpets,choros, flutes, and clarinets.
In addition to distinct rhythms and meters, samba brings a whole historical culture of
food, varied dances (miudinho, coco, samba de roda, and pernada), parties, clothes
such as linen shirts, and the Naif painting of established names such as Nelson

Sargento,Guilherme de Brito, and Heitor dos Prazeres. Anonymous community

artists, including painters, sculptors, designers, and stylists, make the clothes,
costumes, carnival floats, and cars, opening the doors of schools of samba. There is
also a great tradition of ballroom samba in Brazil, with many styles. Samba de
Gafieira is the style more famous in Rio de Janeiro, where common people used to go
to the gafieira parties since the 1930s, and where the moves and identity of this dance
has emerged, getting more and more different from its African, European, Argentinian
and Cuban origins and influences.
The Samba National Day is celebrated on December 2. The date was established at
the initiative of Luis Monteiro da Costa, an Alderman of Salvador, in honor of Ary
Barroso. He composed "Na Baixa do Sapateiro" even though he had never been in
Bahia. Thus 2 December marked the first visit of Ary Barroso to Salvador. Initially,
this day was celebrated only in Salvador, but eventually it turned into a national
holiday.
Samba is a local style in Southeastern Brazil and Northeast Brazil, especially in Rio
de Janeiro, So Paulo, Salvador andRecife. Its importance as Brazil's national music
transcends region, however; samba schools, samba musicians and carnival
organizations centered around the performance of samba exist in every region of the
country, even though other musical styles prevail in various regions (for instance,
in Southern Brazil, Center-West Brazil, and all of the Brazilian countryside,Sertanejo,
or Brazilian country music, is the most popular style). Since Rio de Janeiro is the
most popular Brazilian city worldwide, usually samba is used to identify Brazilians as
part of the same national culture

Etymology
The etymology of samba is uncertain. Possibilites include:

The Portuguese verb sambar, to do joiner's work; and the Portuguese noun
sambco (Latin sambuca), a historic string instrument, a kind of harp or lute.

It is uncertain whether the African Semba dance is related to the Brazilian

Samba, and whether it is older or newer, beyond the superficial similarity of name
and style. In only two Bantu languages does the verb-root "semba" mean "dance",
while in others it denotes unrelated things like "hunger" or "cloth" (but not
"belly").

One of the oldest records of the word samba appeared in Pernambuco magazine's O
Carapuceiro, dated February 1838, when Father Miguel Lopes Gama of Sacramento
wrote against what he called "teh samba d'almocreve" not referring to the future
musical genre, but a kind of merriment (dance drama) popular for black people of that
time. According to Hiram Arajo da Costa, over the centuries, the festival of dances
of slaves in Bahia were called samba.
In the middle of the 19th century, the word samba defined different types of music
made by African slaves when conducted by different types of Batuque, but it assumed
its own characteristics in each Brazilian state, not only by the diversity of tribes for
slaves, but also the peculiarity of each region in which they were settlers. Some of
thesepopulardanceswereknownas Baio, Bochinche, Candombe(Candombl), Catrt

, Caxamb, Choradinho,Ccoinchdo, Cocumb, Crtajca, Curur, Furrund, Jongo

, Lund, Maracat, Maxxe,Quimbte, So-Gonalo, Saramba; not to mention the
many varieties of the Portuguese Fandango, and the Indio dance Purac.
In Argentina, there is a dance called "Zamba", a name which seems to share
etymological origins with the Samba, though the dance itself is quite different.

Origin of samba
Although

samba

exists

throughout

Brazil

especially

in

the

states

of Bahia, Maranho, Minas Gerais, and So Paulo in the form of various popular
rhythms and dances that originated from the regional batuque, a type of music and
associated dance form from Cape Verde, the samba is most frequently identified as a
musical expression of urban Rio de Janeiro, where it was born and developed between
the end of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th century. Early styles of
samba - and specifically samba de roda - are traced back to the Recncavo region of
Bahia during the 17th century, and the informal dancing following a candombl
ceremony. It was in Rio that the dance practiced by former slaves who migrated from
Bahia came into contact with and incorporated other genres played in the city (such as
the polka, the maxixe, the lundu, and the xote), acquiring a completely unique
characterandcreatingthe samba cariocaurbana and carnavalesco (Carnavalschool
director). Samba schools are large organizations of up to 5,000 people which compete
annually in the Carnival with thematic floats, elaborate costumes, and original music.
During the first decade of the 20th century, some songs under the name of samba were
recorded, but these recordings did not achieve great popularity. However, in 1917,
"Pelo Telefone" ("Through the Telephone") was recorded, and it is considered the first

true samba. The song was claimed to be authored by Ernesto dos Santos, best known
as Donga (musician) (pt; de), with co-composition attributed to Mauro de Almeida, a
well-known Carnival columnist. Actually, "Pelo Telefone" was created by a collective
of musicians who participated in celebrations at the house of Tia Ciata (Aunt Ciata). It
was eventually registered by Donga and the Almeida National Library.
"Pelo Telefone" was the first composition to achieve great success with the style of
samba and to contribute to the dissemination and popularization of the genre. From
that moment on, samba started to spread across the country, initially associated with
Carnival and then developing its own place in the music market. There were many
composers, including Heitor dos Prazeres, Joo da Bahiana, Pixinguinha, and Sinh,
but the sambas of these composers were "amaxixados" (a mix of maxixe), known as
sambas-maxixes.
As the samba consolidated as an urban and modern expression, it began to be played
on radio stations, spreading across the hills and neighborhoods to the affluent
southern areas of Rio de Janeiro. Initially viewed with prejudice and discrimination
because it had black roots, the samba, because of its hypnotic rhythms and melodic
intonations in addition to its playful lyrics, eventually conquered the white middle
class as well. Other musical genres derived from samba, such as sambacano, partido alto, samba-enredo,samba de gafieira, samba de breque, bossa
nova, samba-rock, and pagode, have all earned names for themselves.

The Basic Samba Dance Steps

To dance the samba you only need two actual steps, and they are mirrors of each
other. Actually, the word "step" is a little misleading, as most expert dancers will point

out that it's more of a weight shift (or, to use a choreographic term, a "ball change")
from foot to foot. Traditionally, men will start with a Forward Basic, which the
woman mirrors with a Backward Basic. Each will then reverse direction for the next
two measures and repeat, going back and forth.

Forward Basic (Leader)

1. On the first beat of the music, slide the left foot forward very slightly
and put the body's full weight on it.
2. Sliding the right foot forward, let the body shift subtly onto the ball of
the left foot. The right heel shouldn't touch the floor.
3. After the left leg lifts as the weight shifts, place it back on the floor, flat
and ready to go into the complementary back basic.
Back Basic (Follower)
1. On the first beat of the music, slide the right foot back very slightly and
put the body's full weight on it.
2. Sliding the left foot back, let the weight shift subtly onto the ball of the
left foot. This move is also subtle, with the left heel never even making
it to the floor.
3. After the right leg rises because of the ball change, let it come back fully
to the floor, with the full weight coming back.

Turn the Samba Square

If you want to go further with learning the samba, try the samba square. Like the
rhythm of the basic samba steps, it goes long quick, short quick, and then slow. The
leader starts the samba square forward and does the second half backward. The
follower starts the samba square backward and does the second half forward.
Once again, both partners should be facing each other.
Forward Samba Square (Leader)
1. Bend the left knee as you step forward with your left foot.
2. Straighten your right knee as you step to the right with the right foot.
3. Bend both knees as you bring the left foot to the right foot.
4. Straighten your knees.
Backward Samba Square (Follower)
1. Bend the right knee as you step backward with your right foot.
2. Straighten your left knee as you step to the left with your left foot.
3. Bend both knees as you bring your right foot to the left foot.
4. Straighten both knees.
Three steps to each basic move leads to what may at first be confusion in counting
since the music is in 2/4 time. Some teachers use a "quick-quick-slow" method to
teach, but this can be perplexing as the last step is not so much a "slow" movement as

a preparatory placement for the upcoming shift in weight and direction. For that
reason, many people will instead use "and" set between beats of measure, counted
"one and two, three and four, five and six, seven and eight."
.

Macarena
"Macarena" (Spanish pronunciation: [makaena]) is a Spanish dance song by Los
del Ro about a woman of the same name. Appearing on the 1994 album A m me
gusta, it was an international hit in 1995, 1996, and 1997, and continues to have a cult
following. One of the most iconic examples of 1990s dance music, it was ranked the
"#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of all Time" by VH1 in 2002. The song uses a type
of clave rhythm. The song ranks at No. 7 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. It also
ranks at No. 1 on Billboard's All Time Latin Songs.[2][3] It is also Billboard's No. 1
dance song and one of six foreign language songs to hit No. 1 since 1955's rock era
began. Mike Triay, a member of The Bayside Boys who remixed the song, died in
2012 at age 48.
Macarena's composition features a variant on the clave rhythm. It is very similar
to Under Me Sleng Teng.

Origin and history of macarena

As a result of their lounge act, Los del Ro were invited to tour South America in
March 1992 and, while visiting Venezuela, they were invited to a private party held by
the Venezuelan empresario Gustavo Cisneros. Many prominent Venezuelans were in
attendance that night, including former president Carlos Andrs Prez.
Cisneros had arranged for a local flamenco teacher, Diana Patricia Cubilln Herrera,
to do a small performance for the guests, and Los Del Rio were pleasantly surprised
by Cubilln's dance skills. Spontaneously, Antonio Romero Monge, one half of the
Los del Ro duo, recited the song's chorus-to-be on the spot, as an accolade to
Cubilln, but naming her "Ma'dalena" (Magdalena): "Dale a tu cuerpo alegra,
Ma'dalena, que tu cuerpo e' pa' darle alegra y cosa' buena'" ("Give your body some
joy, Magdalene, 'cause your body is for giving joy and good things too"). In
Andalusian culture labeling a woman "Magdalena" is to give her a faint association
with Mary Magdalene's reportedly seedy past, and more accurately describes her as
being sassy or sensuous.
The Macarena dance accompanies a song that was the single most popular one-hitwonder to ever hit the American music scene. It spent 60 weeks on the Top 100
charts, and fourteen of those were at the number one spot. As a dance it is performed
everywhere from grade schools to checkpoints in Iraq, and has been alternately
lampooned, ridiculed, remixed and championed

The Macarena Song and Dance (1990s)

The Macarena song and dance grew into an incredibly popular fad. The song and
subsequently the Macarena dance, spread like wildfire throughout the mid-1990s,

before quickly falling out of fashion and vanishing from popular culture. The song
and dance remain an often-referenced piece of 1990s pop-culture, mentioned in TV
shows, movies, books, and even by a United States presidential candidate.

The Origin of the Macarena Song and Dance

In 1992, the band, Los Del Rio, a Spanish flamenco pop duo, spotted a beautiful
flamenco dancer named Diana Patricia Cubillan Herrera at a private party held by the
Venezuelan empresario in Venezuela. Her beauty and grace inspired them to write a
song. The title of the song, Macarena, comes from a neighborhood in Spain and is
also a popular girls name (meaning Mother of God). Originally Los Del Rio was
to name the song Magdalena but changed the name when they discovered another
song by that name had already been released. The song told of a woman, named
Macarena, who was upset because her boyfriend joined the army. In retaliation, she
goes out on to the town to dance with other soldiers. The Macarena was released in
Spain in 1993 and became Los Del Rios first hit song since 1962.
Several versions of the song were remixed through the mid-1990s and accompanying
videos created. Each version released was more popular than the one prior. In 1996,
a video was released that featured male and female dancers in the background doing
the Macarena dance. In another black and white video released shortly thereafter, the
dancers were more prominent and viewers could easily mimic the dance moves that
they demonstrated.
The Macarena moves to America

In 1994, American label BMG bought the Spanish label and set out to make the
Macarena a cultural hit in America. BMG marketed an English version of the song,
recorded by the Bayside Boys, to dance clubs, cruise ships, and other entertainment
venues and released it as a single in 1995. The Bayside Boys version of the song sold
well in United States. It stayed in the US Top 100 for sixty weeks and reached and
stayed #1 on the charts for a record setting 14 weeks.
Sales of the Macarena song exploded further in 1996 when the Macarena dance craze
hit America and by the end of the year it had sold over four millions copies. People
danced to the Macarena at weddings, office parties, cruise ships, clubs, school
playgrounds, and everywhere else where dancing was permitted. The U.S. womens
gymnastic team did it at the Olympics. Presidential candidate Al Gore did it on TV.
By the end of the year, Macarena had reached the number one place on the charts in
at least nine countries, including Australia, Belgium, and the United States.

How to perform the Macarena

The Macarena dance is a simple dance that consists of a variety of hand and hip
movements similar to a line dance. Each cycle of the dance ends with a ninety degree
rotation of the body, and the dance is then repeated.
To perform the dance, there are eight basic steps to learn. The dance is performed in
time with the chorus portion of the song, and is as follows:
Beats 1 Through 4

Extend your left arm straight out at shoulder level while turning your palm upward.
Repeat with your right arm on beat two. Turn your left palm downward as your arm
remains extended on beat three, and repeat with your right arm on beat four.
Beats 5 Through 8
Cross your left hand over so that it rests palm down on your right upper arm. Repeat
with your right hand by crossing it over to your left arm. On beat seven, place your
left hand behind your head, and repeat with your right hand on beat eight.
Beats 9 Through 12
Move your left hand across your body so that it rests on the front part of your right
hip. Repeat with your right hand by crossing it over to your left hip. On beat 11, place
your left hand onto your left hip or buttocks. Repeat on beat 12 by moving your right
hand to your right hip or buttocks.
Beats 13 Through 16
Rotate your hips and buttocks to the left, then the right and back to the left again on
beats 13 through 15. On the last beat of the sequence, turn (or jump) 90 degrees in a
counter clockwise direction. Start over and repeat the entire sequence for as many
times as youd like while the song is playing.