Samba Alma Guillermoprieto Analysis

In Samba, Alma Guillermoprieto describes the Carnival celebrated every year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and explores the black cultural roots from which it takes its traditions as well as its social, economic, and political context in the 1980s. From her firsthand experience and investigation into favela life and the role of samba schools, specifically of Manguiera, Guillermoprieto illustrates a complex image of race relations in Brazil. The hegemonic character of samba culture in Brazil stands as a prevalent theme in numerous facets of favela life, samba schools, and racial interactions like the increasing involvement of white Brazilians in Carnival preparation and the popularity of mulatas with white Brazilians and tourists.

Rio de Janeiro’s early development as a city was largely segregated after the practice of slavery ended. The centralization of Afro-Brazilians in favelas in the hills of the city strengthened their ties to black

With white Brazilians willing to pay for the most expensive costumes and taking up more roles in the parade, blacks, who were more financially limited, were left with the dancing roles on the ground surrounding the floats. Guillermoprieto creates an image of the role of whites in the Carnival parade: “floating above the masses are the stars—white women and men, by and large, theoretically the most prestigious figures in the parade. Whether they are representing Princess Isabel or the god Xangô they hardly move or act; they glitter, virtually immobilized by the weight and volume of bulky costumes from which only faces and hands protrude” (Guillermoprieto, 181). This claim over the more coveted roles in the parade demonstrate a continued subordination of black expression and