Alma Guillermoprieto's Samba

As explained in Alma Guillermoprieto’s Samba, Brazilian samba and carnival allowed those who participated in the dance to come together to participate in Carnaval, a popular celebration during Lent. Samba, a popular dance in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, was an important symbol in Brazilian’s identity for people who were faced with poverty and racism to unite as a community where people’s differences in their backgrounds disappear. Brazilian samba and carnival promotes racial harmony because the idea of racial mixing did not stop people from participating in the dance, as they shared a similar love for samba. Samba brought together both blacks and whites as a community to participate in the dance throughout Carnaval. Alma writes, “I fidgeted, feeling both out of place and eager to linger in the household’s chaotic warmth. Guezinha gave me an amused look. ‘You’re here to learn, aren’t you? Come here, I’ll show you something.’ […] ‘I have an all-woman wing, fifty of us, and this is the costume we’ll wear. Do you like it?’ I said I did. […] ‘Well, how would you like to join my wing and parade with us at carnival time?” (Guillermoprieto, 36). Alma, a woman with white background, was invited to dance with a group of black women to parade during Carnaval. Since Alma shared a similar love of samba, she was allowed to be a part of this celebration. Although samba

Although Zumbi was not mentioned in any of the textbooks used at the school, the teachers would still teach the students about him because of how important he is in Brazil’s history. Alma writes, “The teacher of a second-grade class asked the children if they remember what they had been taught about Zumbi. […] He had been their favorite subject” (Guillermoprieto, 143). Since the