The birth of samba and the Pedra do Sal

Another one of my favorite sambas is at the historic Pedra do Sal. The “Salt Rock” is perhaps one of the most significant landmarks in the history of samba. The hillside community is literally a giant rock, with steps that lead up to the Morro da Conceição. One of the few remaining vestiges of the “Little Africa” district, the Pedra do Sal has been decreed an historical monument by the city of Rio de Janeiro. In the 19th century, Pedra do Sal was a community extension to the mythic, but now extinct Praça Onze, where urban samba as we know it today was born. The term "Little Africa" was popularized by Roberto Moura’s book Tia Ciata e a pequena África no Rio de Janeiro (1983).


(Ari, Jr/banjo)

The Pedra do Sal is at the heart of the port district of Rio, where migrants from all over Brazil, especially from Bahia, sought work as stevedores. A significant number of legendary sambistas that helped to create the genre worked the docks and lived in the communities around Praça Onze. As Nei Lopes has shown, the musical influence of these migrants can be found in urban samba, especially in the partido alto that is the backbone of the “roots” samba that is popular today (see Lopes 2005). The plaza at the base of the granite hillside is named after João da Baiana, who is credited with introducing the pandeiro into samba and for helping to create, along with Pixiguinha, Heitor dos Prazeres, and Donga, the first sambas.


(Júnior 7 Cordas, Pedrinho Ferreira/surdo)

Continuing the legacy, the group that spearheaded the samba at Pedra do Sal is named Batuque na Cozinha, after one of João da Baiana’s most famous songs. The first time I attended a samba there I met Henrique “Banana” do Cacique, grandson of João da Baiana and son of Cacique de Ramos and Fundo de Quintal founder Neoci. The sambas frequently pay homage to a legendary ancestor, sometimes even displaying a large poster announcing the musician who is being honored.

Listen to "Batuque na cozinha" with João da Baiana, Pixiguinha and Clementina de Jesus. I don't know the recording date of this, but I believe it to be in the late 60s or early 70s before these legendary folks passed.


Also hear Martinho da Vila's version, which I absolutely love, from the 1972 album also called Batuque na cozinha. This album, by the way, is one of my favorites from Martinho.



(front to back: Júnior, Juninho, Ari, Pipa)

References:
Lopes, Nei. 2005. Partido-alto: Samba de bamba. Rio de Janeiro: Pallas.
Moura, Roberto. 1983. Tia Ciata e a pequena África no Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro: FUNARTE, Instituto Nacional de Música, Divisão de Música Popular.