Episode 82: Brazil Samba (Rerun)

Today is the second Sunday in February, which means 2 things: first, we will be hearing Brazilian music as part of my month-long focus on Brazil for carnaval season. Second, I will have some comments about police change in support of Black Lives Matter and black history month… I pledge to keep that topic alive on the second Sunday of each month. I found that my own appetite for samba greatly increased after my first visit to Brazil during carnaval, and I think that is the key to really understanding the samba phenomenon: you have to witness first hand the relationship of this music to the people of Brazil. You have to be in a sambadrome hearing over 100,000 people singing a song in unison. You have to witness the connection between performers and audience in the clubs, and the way samba is passed down through generations. I will never hear samba again without experiencing the memories of those joyful singing faces and dancing bodies.