Choro: A Social History of a Brazilian Popular Music

Choro is a type of Brazilian popular music similar in background to the celebrated Cuban son of Buena Vista Social Club fame. Choro started in Rio de Janeiro as a fusion of African-based rhythms and structures with European instruments and dance forms. In the 20th century, it came to represent social and racial diversity in Brazil and was integrated into mainstream film, radio, and recordings throughout Latin America and Europe. It formed a basis for Brazilian jazz and influenced the music of Heitor Villa Lobos. Today choro is viewed as a type of popular folk/traditional music in its own right. Its history parallels that of race, class, and nationality in Brazil over the last 100 years. Tamara Elena Livingston-Isenhour is University Archivist for Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Thomas George Caracas Garcia is Assistant Professor of musicology/ ethnomusicology and guitar/lute at the State University of West Georgia.