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Samba
To the 70 million poor of Brazil, dreaming and planning for Carnival is an upside down ritual for exorcising their pain--a brilliant cultural and sexual release in which sequins are brighter than diamonds; prostitutes and pimps are queens and kings, and dancing skill is more prized than power.
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First published February 17, 1990
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232 people want to read
About the author
Alma Guillermoprieto
35 books103 followersGuillermoprieto was born and grew up in Mexico City. In her teens, she moved to New York City with her mother where she studied modern dance for several years. From 1962 until 1973, she was a professional dancer.
Her first book, Samba (1990), was an account of a season studying at a samba school in Rio de Janeiro.
In the mid-1970s, she started her career as a journalist for The Guardian, moving later to the Washington Post. In January, 1982, Guillermoprieto, then based in Mexico City, was one of two journalists (the other was Raymond Bonner of The New York Times) who broke the story of the El Mozote massacre in which some 900 villagers at El Mozote, El Salvador, were slaughtered by the Salvadoran army in December, 1981. With great hardship and at great personal risk, she was smuggled by FMLN rebels to visit the site approximately a month after the massacre took place. When the story broke simultaneously in the Post and Times on January 27, 1982, it was dismissed as propaganda by the Reagan administration. Subsequently, however, the details of the massacre as first reported by Guillermoprieto and Bonner were verified, with widespread repercussions.
During much of the subsequent decade, Guillermoprieto was a South America bureau chief for Newsweek.
Guillermoprieto won an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship in 1985 to research and write about changes in rural life under the policies of the European Economic Community.
During the 1990s, she came into her own as a freelance writer, producing long, extensively researched articles on Latin American culture and politics for The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books, including outstanding pieces on the Colombian civil war, the Shining Path during the Internal conflict in Peru, the aftermath of the "Dirty War" in Argentina, and post-Sandinista Nicaragua. These were bundled in the book 'The Heart That Bleeds' (1994), now considered a classic portrait of the politics and culture of Latin America during the "lost decade" (it was published in Spanish as 'Al pie de un volcán te escribo — Crónicas latinoamericanas' in 1995).
In April 1995, at the request of Gabriel García Márquez, Guillermoprieto taught the inaugural workshop at the Fundación para un Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano, an institute for promoting journalism that was established by García Márquez in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. She has since held seven workshops for young journalists throughout the continent.
That same year, Guillermoprieto also received a MacArthur Fellowship.
A second anthology of articles, 'Looking for History', was published in 2001, which won a George Polk Award. She also published a collection of articles in Spanish on the Mexican crisis, El año en que no fuimos felices.
In 2004, Guillermoprieto published a memoir, 'Dancing with Cuba', which revolved on the year she spent living in Cuba in her early twenties. An excerpt of it was published in 2003 in The New Yorker. In the fall of 2008, she joined the faculty of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Chicago, as a Tinker Visiting Professor.
Her first book, Samba (1990), was an account of a season studying at a samba school in Rio de Janeiro.
In the mid-1970s, she started her career as a journalist for The Guardian, moving later to the Washington Post. In January, 1982, Guillermoprieto, then based in Mexico City, was one of two journalists (the other was Raymond Bonner of The New York Times) who broke the story of the El Mozote massacre in which some 900 villagers at El Mozote, El Salvador, were slaughtered by the Salvadoran army in December, 1981. With great hardship and at great personal risk, she was smuggled by FMLN rebels to visit the site approximately a month after the massacre took place. When the story broke simultaneously in the Post and Times on January 27, 1982, it was dismissed as propaganda by the Reagan administration. Subsequently, however, the details of the massacre as first reported by Guillermoprieto and Bonner were verified, with widespread repercussions.
During much of the subsequent decade, Guillermoprieto was a South America bureau chief for Newsweek.
Guillermoprieto won an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship in 1985 to research and write about changes in rural life under the policies of the European Economic Community.
During the 1990s, she came into her own as a freelance writer, producing long, extensively researched articles on Latin American culture and politics for The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books, including outstanding pieces on the Colombian civil war, the Shining Path during the Internal conflict in Peru, the aftermath of the "Dirty War" in Argentina, and post-Sandinista Nicaragua. These were bundled in the book 'The Heart That Bleeds' (1994), now considered a classic portrait of the politics and culture of Latin America during the "lost decade" (it was published in Spanish as 'Al pie de un volcán te escribo — Crónicas latinoamericanas' in 1995).
In April 1995, at the request of Gabriel García Márquez, Guillermoprieto taught the inaugural workshop at the Fundación para un Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano, an institute for promoting journalism that was established by García Márquez in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. She has since held seven workshops for young journalists throughout the continent.
That same year, Guillermoprieto also received a MacArthur Fellowship.
A second anthology of articles, 'Looking for History', was published in 2001, which won a George Polk Award. She also published a collection of articles in Spanish on the Mexican crisis, El año en que no fuimos felices.
In 2004, Guillermoprieto published a memoir, 'Dancing with Cuba', which revolved on the year she spent living in Cuba in her early twenties. An excerpt of it was published in 2003 in The New Yorker. In the fall of 2008, she joined the faculty of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Chicago, as a Tinker Visiting Professor.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 23, 2012
This is a great book about the culture and evolution of Samba. Set in Rio de Janeiro, this books follows the year long preparation for Carnival by the world-renowned Samba school, Manguiera. It's definitely a must read if you are trying to learn more about samba, carnival or Brazilian culture. It had many beautiful anecdotes, personal experiences as well as terminology for those of us in the world who do not immediately understand what a bateria or a cuica is. Good research material and an entertaining read.
June 26, 2021
Fantastic reporting and investigation in samba culture and roots of religious icons. Fun first hand experience of the joy and freedom of carnival and samba. Also introduced me to some great samba artists eg Cartola
March 9, 2021
Reading for Latin American history course.
April 10, 2013
Even though I've read and enjoyed AG's New Yorker dispatches, I didn't expect to like this book. I knew she had a dance history, and really expected it to be something of a book for dancers, or one that is only enjoyed to its fullest by dancers. Not the case. She really captured the vibe of the city - albeit twenty years ago - and I wound up wishing I'd read this in my first weeks living in Rio to truly get my Carnival bearings. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the roots of Carnival, and it's also definitely worth a read if you're visiting Rio outside Carnival season.
July 25, 2008
This book defies categorization. An excellent exploration of the place of Samba in Brazilian life, written around the one year's preparation for Carnival in Rio. The author followed a samba school through the preparations, and in the process describes life in the favelas, racial issues, poverty, and explores the place of samba and Carnival in Brazilian history. A fantastic story and extremely well-written.
January 11, 2020
I should have read this when it was assigned to me in college, but hung onto it and just read it for the first time 13 years later. Super fascinating if you are interested in getting a complete glimpse into the world of one of the most respected samba schools in Brazil. I had a hard time keeping the names of everyone straight (there are more than 40 people who you meet over and over again, who are all interconnected) and that made it hard for me to really get into it.
April 3, 2009
This book is an awsome read. Not only is is a great peice of journailsm on culture immersion, Brizilian life and cultural history; it is a wonderful story and the author is excellent. You can feel the tension and situational acceptance. You can feel the sweat on your back and the Samba in your soul.
June 18, 2019
Fascinating look into the world of Samba schools in the favelas of Brazil. Great insight into the roles of the state, of religion, of Carnaval, of the actual samba schools, and the people involved and those who are affected by these movements. Alma Guillermoprieto does a great job of situating inside this world of Samba.
August 25, 2007
This is book about poverty, creativity, and resistance in the favelas of Rio. The author's exudes a love of the people while never being romantic about their plight. Perhaps no other book brings out so clearly the role of music in the life of third world peoples.
September 17, 2014
Wonderful about Rio's rich samba culture, history and life in the city's sprawling favelas. I loved the way Guillermoprieto weaved us in and out of this world and seeing how her own views changed as the story unfolded
February 24, 2015
It was interesting to go back and read this. I originally read this in college for an Anthro course on South America. This was very entertaining this time around and I remembered so much more. Learning how samba and Carnival intersected and how the whole process works was entertaining.
June 16, 2007
I loved learning about the culture of samba...hot, hot, hot!!!
August 29, 2007
I read this for a class and loved it. It a quick read with a lot of great history and cultural insights about Brazil.
December 19, 2007
I was studying samba at the time and was truly moved by this account. It was beautiful, I would read it again.
January 30, 2008
a good read about brazilian culture in the favellas (african-brazilian ghettos), and the inner workings of brazilian carnaval...
November 30, 2017
It is a great read. Can be made even more enjoyable by googling the historic samba celebrities mentioned. Using YouTube to watch and listen to the carnival Alma described is fun too.
May 3, 2018
Truly enjoyable read, could be the beginning of your love affair with Brazil.
August 12, 2025
My professor gift my class book from his collection and this one caught my attention. This book is bittersweet experiences of carnival and life in rio in 80s. This book highlights Brazil’s history and problematic issues they felt with and were still happening. Overall it felt like slow book but quite enjoyable.
July 6, 2021
This is a detailed book about the origins of samba dancing and the way it is used in the Brazilian Carnival by the local people.
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July 10, 2016Barry
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews