| Brazil has the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest | | | | and dance are a regular popular explosion. Until |
| and river; Brazil has the Iguassu Falls, the biggest | | | | midnight on certain days of the long summer, the music |
| waterfalls in the world; Brazil has the Pantanal, the | | | | doesn't stop, with people and vendors mixing with |
| hugest concentration of wild life in America; Brazil has | | | | bands and street musicians everywhere. For Bahianos |
| the longest tropical beach coast in the world, with | | | | (the inhabitants of Bahia) and Cariocas (the inhabitants |
| internationally unknown paradisiacal beaches. Brazil has | | | | of Rio) any occasion is suited for music. |
| the biggest popular street festival in the world (the | | | | You may ask: and the creativity, and the artistic |
| Carnival)... | | | | themes? Where are the higher expressions of that |
| Those are objective and statistically verifiable | | | | music? Do they exist? |
| phenomena. But I would dare to add another one: | | | | Surely. And by that I am not pointing to some major |
| Brazil also has the world's most genuine set of musical | | | | samba themes (there are major samba themes), or to |
| traditions and expressions. | | | | the Bossa Nova of forty or fifty years ago. I mean |
| An assertion too bold? | | | | present day music, top quality in the world (though not |
| Undoubtedly. And a risky one, too... I should explain | | | | necessarily at the commercial top). |
| myself better. I do not contest the dominance of | | | | Some of the present day brazilian music is highly |
| anglo-american music, or the prominence of some | | | | elaborated, demanding attention, with lyrics having a |
| higher expressions of it. I accept that. In a certain | | | | very broad importance (its lower international visibility is |
| sense, if compared to north-american music, brazilian | | | | due to the language in which it is expressed: |
| music is just a minor player in the world music | | | | Portuguese). |
| panorama. | | | | There are plenty of new highly inventive brazilian |
| When I place the Brazilian music at the top of the | | | | composers and performers. And Brazilians love their |
| world rank, I am selecting some particular expressions | | | | musicians and composers. They are their gods. Gods |
| of it. And I am considering the way Brazilians live their | | | | with names like Maria Bethania, Gal Costa, Ivan Lins, |
| music and express it. | | | | Ivete Sangalo, Elis Regina, Djavan, Daniela Mercury, |
| Brazilians love music, with an intensity unknown | | | | Elba Ramalho, Marisa Monte, Milton Nascimento, Rita |
| elsewhere. In places like Salvador da Bahia the music | | | | Lee, Adriana Calcanhoto... |