Afro-diasporic influences

We must acknowledge the Afro roots of Latin music

By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer   I remember the first time João Gilberto’s voice filled my room. It was soft, unhurried, a secret being told in half-light. “Chega de Saudade” flowed as simply as breath. What I didn’t know yet was that this serene sound, often celebrated as the birth of bossa nova, carried with it older rhythms: the pulse of samba de roda from Bahia, and Candomblé chants where enslaved individuals came together to create art. Before bossa nova’s subtle harmonies reached Rio’s middle-class apartments, its spirit already lived in the percussive heartbeats of those at the margins.  This history…

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