Forro & Family in Brazil: A Culture of Suadade and a Fight for Legitimacy
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The Beginning Years of Independence from Portugal
Transitions from slave to a wage economy proved onerous for the entire country, especially for the Northeast. Cattle raising became a primary subsistence strategy in the North as opposed to coffee growing. Railways were developed in Santos and a flux of well educated immigrates entered the cities. Native Brazilians suffering from an educational deficit of half the literacy rate of immigrants made them less desirable in the work force. These factors mark the origins of stratification. -
Period: to
Forro Family
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Slavery Abolished
Brazil abolishes slavery. Over 4 million slaves had been imported --- more than any in other counrty in North America -
The instruments
The button accordion brought to Northeastern Brazil by immigrants from Europe sometime in the century. -
About Forro: An Introduction
Forro was developed at the “forró pé-dé-serra” the foot of the mountains in Northeast Brazil. It is a dance of the unpretentious, uniting a form of music and dance that includes mixed generations and couples. Like the people of the Northeast It has a long tradition of struggle for legitimacy and attention in the mainstream culture of Brazil. At Its heart are the simple rhythms of the countryside the zambuba, accordion, and triangle. -
The Street Dance
“a dance style that is warm, affectionate, open to everyone, and gostoso What I love most is its unpretentiousness,”
“It’s not a ballroom dance, but a street dance. Everyone can dance forró, at any age, and in their own way.”
--Marion Lima -
Asa Branca Lyrics 1947
http://lyricstranslate.com/en/asa-branca-white-bird.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5r2_wGk1dI
“Asa branca” the bird white wings. It said to only appear in the vacant blue desert of sertão when it rains, flying in an unfixed direction and uncertain of what the future will hold. Like the bird, the hymn’s protagonist declares his love to his wife Rosinha, promising to return when the rain comes again and that his heart will always belong in the countryside. -
1952 “Tudo e Baiao.”
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Educational and Occupational Disparities
(https://books.google.com/books?id=YbzsBPuhyggC&pg=PA211&dq=Merrick+and+Graham+1979+111&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwt6zi68XMAhUB4iYKHWTVBP4Q6AEIKDAC#v=onepage&q=Merrick%20and%20Graham%201979%20111&f=false)
-62% of labor force Sao Paulo was foreign born (Cohen, 1979)
- 82% of textile workers were immigrants -
2012 Forro Flash Mob
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2014 Forro Festival Germany