Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an introduction to Brazil, highlighting important aspects of its history, geography, demographics, and culture. It describes the development of Brazilian urban music in light of class divisions and race relations and documents the work of Sao Paulo’s Comunidade Samba da Vela, a community that disseminates the work of local composers. The book then discusses the historical destruction of Indigenous populations and their fight against colonial oppression. It also examines the contributions of Indigenous groups to Brazilian culture, drawing specifically from the knowledge gained from the storytelling. By exploring multiple elements in folk traditions, it explores how various groups experience their cultures, how they interact, what they eat, what they like. The book focuses on the historical overview of African slavery in Brazil. By examining the painting The Redemption of Ham it illustrates how whitening principles permeated society.