the most famous of the brazilian musical styles - the samba, is the world-conquering rhythm, most commonly associated with carnival in rio de janeiro.

although its roots are long, the first recognized samba was composed by ernesto 'donga' dos santos and mauro de almeida. the song was released in 1916, and as pelo telefone (by phone) took over the charts, hearts and minds of the brazilian public, the samba era was born.

its popularity first soared in the working class slums of rio de janeiro, where it struck a chord with the population of blacks, mixed people and former soldiers that lived there.