Abstract
The article undertake an against-the-grain study of Mario de Andrade's Ensaio sobre música brasileira, published at the end of 1928 and frequently taken to be a key ideological piece in the routinzation of his nationalist project. It argues that a focus on the normative dimension came to chronically minimize, when not actually eclipse, the more properly cognitive dimension of the text, eradicating its instrumental view of nationalism and open view of identity by making it conform to the paradigm - which would become hegemonic during the 1930s - of national unity and of an authentic and homogenous Brazilian culture. It also suggests that the cosmopolitan and decentred idea of "Brazilianness" expressed by the Modernist author conveys an open, plural and unfinished conception of identity, which enables us to recognize popular culture and the dignity of its social bearers.
Keywords
Mário de Andrade; Ensaio sobre música brasileira; nationalism; national identity; Brazilian culture