the word pagode comes from the portuguese word pagoda, which means informal meeting, and was usually used to describe the parties of slaves - the pagode phenomenon, which began in the 1970s in rio's ramos district is something different, as it referred to parties of friends and family, who would gather in each other's back yards with lots of food, drinks, and samba.

the genre grew throughout the city, with groups such as grupo fundo de quintal instrumental but in the 1990s, pagode began to flourish, as groups started introducing new sounds to the genre, such as electronic instruments, and key bands such as os travessos, molejo and raça negra established themselves in the city.