Brazilian Popular Music and Globalization
Self-Discovery in Brazilian Popular Music:Mestre Ambrósio
John Murphy
Even as it moves to join the world beat circuit, building on its strong
regional following and growing national audience within Brazil, the
Recife-based band Mestre Ambrósio is taking steps to maintain ties with the
rural performers whose music served as the inspiration for its novel blend
of rabeca-based forró, cavalo-marinho, maracatu rural, and cantoria styles
with rock. This paper describes Mestre Ambrósio’s music and its continuing
association with rural performers, and discusses the relevance of this case
to larger debates about globalization.
Band photos by the author in Central Park, NY, 1998
About the author: John Murphy is Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Jazz Studies at North Texas State University, Denton. He was a Fulbright scholar in Recife 2000-2001.