THE CITY AND THE FORMATION OF THOUGHT

samba as a tactic for identity construction and education

Abstract

This research seeks to elucidate the transformations in the city of Rio de Janeiro and, consequently, its dynamics based on samba. The proposal takes the organization of the city as an element that diffuses European hegemonic culture. There are buildings, streets, decorations, gardens and other “adornments”, built by black hands, which simulate a Europe in the lands of São Sebastião. These same people were denied space, being forced to rebuild their lives on the hills, reinventing themselves and embracing their traditions, including samba. The project of a Brazil illustrated in “A redenção de Cam” (1895), by Modesto Brocos (1852-1936) takes on the colors of ranches and samba schools. As well as being colorful, the works of Heitor dos Prazeres portray the Brazil that worked, where the musician, composer and artist emphasizes the freedom, union, identity and belonging of Afro-Brazilian culture. His paintings show black people retaking the city, occupying it with parties and samba. We seek to reflect on the present and future of a territory built, shaped and forged by ancestral wisdom, orality and memory, presented to us as constituents of a cultural heritage that educates through the “being” of its holders and future generations.