Samba School: a school of black people, the black plot of samba

Abstract

The samba schools are one of the most popular cultural manifestations in Brazil, in country and abroad. With them, the black people organized themselves and went in search of social acceptance and legitimacy with political authorities to ensure the expression of their singing, their dancing, their art. This article aims: to relate the history of samba schools in the communities' struggle of the urban periphery (black, mostly) for spaces of cultural expression and social interaction in a context of exclusion of basic rights; analyze how the black is represented in the parade of samba schools and particularly in its song, the samba plot. The theoretical basis begins with the formative perspective of Antonio Candido and his concept of "artistic nationalism" in order to, then, conjecture about the position of black in the construction of nationality as from studies in the Sociology and History of Education. The samba and the carnival exercise an essential role: through them, the black element would consolidate in the ideal of "Brazilianness". The methodology defined the corpus to Rio de Janeiro, where the samba schools have emerged and where the rhythm spread. The time frame considered the first four decades of existence of the samba schools, data analysis (song lyrics) collected in internet portals, record collections and publications on gender was held. As a partial result, which is in the 1960s that "black plots" are consolidated, going to be a theme addressed naturally at the carnival.