the malandro is also a playboy, a gentleman, sentimental, a great lover, and often seen as a mystical entity - he has become widely recognized inside and out of brazil, and, similarly to samba, he became an unavoidable figure of the 'carioca' cultural heritage.

the 1970s gave birth to one more important type of samba music - born in an era of frantic musical transformation across the world, this variation would be called the samba rock and mixed the most traditionalistic aspects of samba with the recent developments in musical instruments.

the dance is also more loose, more unconnected with the music itself, allowing for more stage freedom.