Samba is Brazil's ""national rhythm"", the symbol of its culture and nationhood. It symbolizes the racial and cultural mixture that, since the 1930s, most Brazilians have come to believe defines their unique national identity. But how did Brazil become ""the Kingdom of Samba"" only a few decades after abolishing slavery in 1888? The author of this book shows that the nationalization of samba actually rested on a long history of relations between different social groups, often working at cross-purposes to one another.