This song share will be showcasing a song by Nara Leão. When it comes to influential women in music, Leão fits the bill perfectly. She was born in Brazil in 1942. As a child Leão was shy, it was for this reason that her father gave her a guitar. That guitar was what sparked music in Leão’s life. She was a Bossa Nova singer and was known as Bossa Nova’s Muse. Bossa Nova is a style of Samba that emerged in the late 1950s. Besides being a huge pillar in Bossa Nova music she was also outspoken about her politics. During the 1960s there was a military coup that ousted the president of Brazil and caused 21 years of military dictatorship. This led Leão to diversify her music and she led the movement called “canção de protesto” which is also known as protest music. Leão became the voice of the people through her lyrics, her second album Opinião de Nara was a hit that consisted of ridicules towards the government and threats that they could not quiet her. Leão continued advocating for the freedom of Brazil in her music and in concert even when the government tried cracking down on it. She even went as far as to go against Bossa Nova music, claiming it was dead and redundant to sing until the government issues had been resolved. Eventually, Leão went on a voluntary exile as oppression from the government increased. She did come back to Brazil and died of a brain tumor at the age of 47. However, she did live to see the end of the dictatorship in Brazil.

I chose the song Eu Gosto Mais Do Rio because just like the song example from class, it is a Samba. You can definitely hear similarities between the two, however, there are still differences as well. They both include similar singing styles, the difference is that the song from class has many people singing while this piece only has a single singer. Bossa Nova singing is also characteristically softer and more “intimate” sounding than classic Samba. Both include the acoustic guitar and drums and they both are used in the same way. The two songs differ when it comes to the rest of the instruments, the Samba from class includes more percussion instruments whereas Leão’s song has the keyboard and some violins. Even though these instruments are different, they are both used to create more complex rhythms which are a key characteristic of the Samba.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgmvzGhRaI4&list=OLAK5uy_mmPW59hWEEu05fDyIWi92bpr1KF_wv3Go&index=1