Brazilian Popular Music and Globalization
The Localization of Global Funk in Bahia and in Rio
Livio Sansone
article synopsis below
American soul and funk inspired a movement in Rio de Janeiro as early as the mid-1970s. In the midst of a general renaissance of African-derived culture in Salvador in the 1990s, funk phenomena (now also including rap, hiphop) also emerged in Salvador. In terms of manipulation of sources, there are significant historical and regional differences between the two moments, both of which merit consideration for their performative meanings and in comparison to other sites of youth culture based on black diasporic practices. The centrality of hegemonic models and the commonality of manifestations in the periphery are questioned in the course of the comparisons among Rio, Bahia, and other relevant places.
Livio Sansone is former Director of the Centro de Estudos Afro-Asiáticos and associate dean for research at Faculdades Cândido Mendes, Rio de Janeiro. He is now Professor of Anthropology at UFBA, the Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.
