Nine samba musical instruments, including the pandeiro, the tam-tam, the cuíca and the tambourine, were recognized as manifestations of national culture throughout Brazilian territory. THE law which makes the decision official was sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Monday (30).
The ways of making musical instruments are also recognized as cultural practices and traditions.
The list of nine instruments known from samba circles and schools also includes the surdo, the grindstone, the frying pan, the timba and the hand repique.
According to the law, all instruments must be designated as manifestations of national culture when they follow the cultural practices and traditions associated with them in their respective modes of production. The forms and methods of production of musical instruments will be detailed in a decree.
Percussion master, 32-year-old Jackie Cunha from São Paulo, knows how to play these instruments, with the exception of the cuíca. She says that she started learning about instruments as a child, taken by her mother to São Paulo samba circles. At the age of seven, he was already playing his first tambourine.
For the percussionist, the official recognition of samba instruments must be celebrated, even if late.
“The importance is gigantic. You can find surdo, snare, tambourine and tambourine in different rhythms, in addition to samba, because they bring this sound, this wealth of details, this rich sound”, he said.
Percussionist Glauber Marques is the third generation of cuiqueiros in the family. He learned to play the instrument from his batu player grandfather at one of the most traditional samba schools in São Paulo: Nenê de Vila Matilde.
“The soul of samba is the instrument, the heart of the batucada, the manifestation is in the batuque, in the sound. Without an instrument there is no samba. The cuíca, as my grandfather said, is the most mischievous instrument, it cries and laughs at the same time time,” he says.
Drum master Rafa understands the samba instrument. Under her command, there are 172 rhythmists from the Imperatriz da Pauliceia samba school. In 2015, she became the first woman in charge of a samba school drum kit in São Paulo.
For Rafa, even with different tunings and melodic tempos, whether in a samba circle or in a school drum kit during carnival, musical instruments give body and soul to samba.
