Bossa & Bossas: Recent Changes in Brazilian Urban Popular Music
1973; University of Illinois Press; Volume: 17; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/849882
ISSN2156-7417
Autores Tópico(s)Music History and Culture
ResumoRather than being ephemeral fashion-cycles, Brazilian urban popular musical expressions of today function basically-as most musics do-as a medium of communication whose significance (i.e., meaning and relevance) varies in time from one homogeneous group to another, whether group be defined in terms of given referential generations, of philosophical or political ideologies, or of ethnic identities. As Haralambos points out in his study of soul music and blues in Northern U.S. black ghettos, the meanings associated with black music by black Americans are distinct to that group. (Haralambos 1970:382) But group here is not exclusively identified in racial terms but more importantly in socio-economic cultural terms. In Brazilian context of popular music, however, groups involved are not racially homogeneous, yet meanings associated with their music are also distinct to those groups. This seems to be result of a class social organization rather than of racial subdivisions. In Brazil, general acceptance of what constitutes, culturally and ethnically, an Afro-American is not as unequivocal as in U.S. (Harris 1970:75). Race alone cannot, therefore, be considered a valid criterion in discussing Brazilian popular music. It would appear utterly inaccurate, from a Brazilian viewpoint, to regard repertoire under consideration here as that of Afroor white Brazilians, in spite of fact that many stylistic features of bossa nova samba, for example, derive from Afro-Brazilian musical traditions. Thus, it should be borne in mind that popular music in Brazil cuts across ethnic lines. Brazilian urban popular music of last fifteen years has undergone drastic changes. The determinant factors for these changes are numerous and varied, and some of those will be briefly mentioned in this study. Since advent of bossa nova (1958-59), history of popular music in Brazil seems to have followed fundamental pattern of modernization witnessed in urban areas. The tremendous growth of urban population in last fifteen years has made it possible to develop a diversified music market of incredible proportion for a so-called underdeveloped country. Moreover, consequent emergence of a powerful urban middle class, with modernizing aspirations, has created a favorable climate for experimenting with new styles and for promoting greater competition among popular musicians. Social scientists define modern societies as being relatively secular, anthropocentric, and developing universalistic achievement and impersonal orientations. One characterization of modernization is necessity to close gap between
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