Embolada

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Embolada is a form of song belonging to Brazilian music ( Música Popular Brasileira ), especially from the coastal areas of the northeast up to the Sertão, and comes from the Portuguese musical tradition. Two wandering singers, so-called “Cantadores” or “Emboladores”, improvise comic and satirical texts, often with social or political references, in quick, short intervals and accompany each other on the pandeiro or the Ganzá or the Chocalho . A chorus is given by one of the singers, to which his partner responds with alternating stanzas with usually six, sometimes four or ten verses, while the rhythm gets faster and faster and roles are swapped until both give up exhausted. The singers use alliterations and onomatopoeia . They are one of the main attractions on the Feiras nordestinas, the rural markets of the northeast, as seen in Mika Kaurismäki's 2002 documentary Moro no Brasil .

Through the spread on the radio and the rural exodus of the inhabitants of the northeast, this originally purely rural form of music spread and became increasingly popular in the cities. Even if Brazilian rap has its origins in the USA, many see the embolada and similar musical traditions in these regions of Brazil as a possible origin because of the cascades of words and spoken chants, especially since these are much older than the US imports.

This style should not be confused with the repente, since the repentista , to name just one difference, is on a rural guitar accompanied by the “viola” mentioned here.

literature

  • Claus Schreiner: Musica Latina. Music folklore between Cuba and Tierra del Fuego. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1982, ISBN 3-596-22973-1 .
  • Claus Schreiner: Música Popular Brasileira. Handbook of Folk and Popular Music of Brazil. Tropical Music, Darmstadt 1977, revised and expanded edition 1985, ISBN 3-924777-00-4 .

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