Between the square and the plaza: artists and intellectuals in the making of two “cradles” of samba

ABSTRACT

By comparing Praça Onze and Largo da Banana, this article analyzes the asymmetric negotiations between black musicians and white intellectuals involved with the consecration of those places into “cradles” of samba at the units of Museu da Imagem e do Som in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Oral history projects from the 1960s to the 1980s aimed at creating a narrative based on the popular culture authenticity’s parameters, but creates different results, related to the ethnic and racial identities in both cities.

KEYWORDS
Praça Onze; Largo da Banana; Museu da Imagem e do Som