Samba

by Alma Guillermoprieto

Overview

For one year, Alma Guillermoprieto lived in Manguiera, a village near Rio de Janeiro, to learn the ritual of samba—the sensuous song and dance marked by a rapturous beat—and to take part in Rio's renowned carnivale parade.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679732563
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/30/1991
Series:	Vintage Departures
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Alma Guillermoprieto writes frequently for the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books. She is the author of Looking for History, The Heart That Bleeds, and Samba, and she was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1995. Raised in Mexico and the United States, she now makes her home in Mexico City.

Editorial Reviews

"May well be the single best book ever written about the central place of music in the life of the Third World."—Washington Post Book World

From the Publisher

Black Orpheus springs to life in this description of Rio de Janeiro's annual carnival. Viewers of the famous foreign film will recall the thousands of costumed dancers and musicians who plan, design and practice for the lengthy displays in carnival parades. In depicting the slum people of Rio who prepare for the annual samba competition, Guillermoprieto, formerly Newsweek 's South American bureau chief, vividly presents the individual stories of principal participants, analyzes the feelings they express in their music and dance, describes the contributions of the various samba schools and offers his interpretation of black Brazilian history and culture. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Every year the favela (poor sections on the hills of the city) of Rio organize teams of Samba dancers to compete in the yearly carnival. The author follows the preparations from the perspective of the champion Manguiera team, 5000 strong, and finds a serious community project to which all contribute despite their poverty and the high cost of costumes. The Manguiera team honors its African roots in its themes. Tempers and emotions escalate, leading to inevitable disasters which last for months, until finally all collapse into a black and white mass of unfettered sensualism at carnival. This delightful book gives a glimpse into a culture of poverty and its art form, about which too little has been written in English. Photographs would have added to the fun of reading; nevertheless, this will be popular with general readers.--Louise Leonard, Univ. of Florida Lib., Gainesville

Library Journal