Art has always been used to symbolize a person's culture, history, society and national identity. Countries identify themselves through their culture, their art. Art has many forms, one of them being music. One of the most famous musical genres in the world is samba. Because Samba is the musical life force of Brazil; it ultimately represents their national identity. To better understand why samba represents Brazil's national identity, one must understand the history of Brazil and samba. Samba can be heard throughout Brazil. It is a musical genre complemented by singing and dancing that includes a group of percussion instruments and a guitar. The puxador (lead singer) begins the samba, occasionally singing the same song for hours. The responsibility of keeping thousands of voices to the beat of the drum rests on his shoulders. Little by little, the other members of the escola (samba group) enter and, under the whistle of the mestre de bateria (percussion leader), the most exciting moment of the parade comes when the percussion section rushes in. . drums) maintain the 2/4 meter, while the caixas (snare drum) and tamborins accentuate the second beat. This set of percussion instruments, called "bateria", frequently includes instruments such as the agogo (double bell) and the reco-reco (scraper), as well as the prato, repique, pandeiro, tamborim and ganzathe. The only stringed instrument is the large cavaquinho (ukulele). Together, these instruments combine to create polyrhythms that intersect and align, contrast and reinforce each other in a lively style that is less formal than the marcha or maxix. Couples often dance to the samba in physically tight and close movements, similar to lambada and the national musical style of...... middle of paper ... The roots of samba come from a mixture of different African cultures, primarily from Angola via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions, and were infused from Portugal and Europe, which allowed slaves to perform relatively complex melodies found in samba . developed from European tradition, giving birth to Praca Onze. Samba is a symbol of Brazil and Brazilian Carnival, making it an icon of Brazilian national identity. Works CitedDeCouto, N. Personal interview. November 2, 2011. McGowan, C. and Pessanha, R. The Brazilian sound: samba, bossa nova and the popular music of Brazil. Temple University Press: Philadelphia, 1998. Page, J. The Brazilians. Addison-Wesley: New York, 1995. Smith, T. Brazil: People and Institutions. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press,1946.