Brazil is a country overflowing with music from every corner, and there is a deep connection between Brazilians and their music. A tricultural mix of indigenous groups, Portuguese colonizers and African slaves makes for an immensely diverse population. And while the indigenous music retained much of its traditional context throughout the colonial period (and even to today), it never played as central a role in the development of Brazil's popular music as did the music of the Africans and Portuguese.

As a vast country of many states, Brazil's music is regional, with each section (sometimes specific cities) contributing distinct musical genres. Portuguese influences abound in the country's rich and lyrical poetry, the exquisite melody, and the instrumentation including the accordion, guitar and violin families. Roman Catholic festivals and pageants remain as seasonal events in various regions in Brazil, and the Portuguese sentimental song forms such as the moda and the fado became staple genres.

The African elements are both obvious and subtle, and primarily include drumming and dancing forms expressed largely through communal and spiritual tradition. As in Cuba and Haiti, Brazilian Africans were able to retain a great majority of their music, dance and spiritual traditions, primarily along the coastal areas, resulting in some of the richest and most popular forms known around the world. Rebeca Mauleon