samba
A lively Brazilian dance and music genre in duple meter with syncopated rhythms.
In Depth
Samba is a Brazilian genre and dance deeply rooted in African rhythmic traditions, brought to Brazil by enslaved Africans. Its signature is a syncopated 2/4 rhythm with interlocking percussion patterns played by instruments like the surdo (bass drum), tamborim, agogô, and cuíca.
Samba is inseparable from Brazilian carnival, where samba schools (escolas de samba) parade with elaborate floats and thousands of dancers and musicians. Beyond carnival, samba encompasses many subgenres: samba de roda, samba-canção, partido alto, and pagode. The genre also influenced bossa nova, which softened and refined samba rhythms for a more intimate, jazz-inflected style.
Rio's Carnival parade features samba schools with up to 4,000 performers each. The largest schools rehearse year-round, and the competition between them is taken as seriously as football.