although the samba carioca - the one being ever honed by the countless samba schools and sambistas of the marvelous city - is considered to be the 'most brazilian' of them all, the sound has fervent adherents in every corner of the country.

its sub-genres reflect the diversity of its practitioners - variants such as samba-de-breque, samba-exaltação, samba-de-terreiro, samba-enredo, and samba de gafieira each reflect a distinct regional interpretation of the national sound.

the roots of samba lie in an even older brazilian musical tradition known as choro. the genre, whose name literally means 'cry' in portuguese, emanates from the same fertile carioca foothills, which would give birth to samba in later years and is a unique mix of the popular european dance traditions of the 19th century - the polka, the habañera and the waltz, primarily - and the african rhythms of the lundu and batuque.