Cantando a História do Brasil: uma análise da historiografia colonial brasileira através dos sambas-enredo das escolas de samba do Rio de Janeiro e São Luís

Abstract

This undergraduate research aims to analyze how the samba-enredos performed by samba schools in Rio de Janeiro and São Luís portray the history of Colonial Brazil. Based on the understanding that samba-enredo, as a form of popular cultural expression, goes beyond entertainment, the study considers it a tool for education, collective memory, and social critique. The research provides historical context for the emergence of Carnival and samba schools, highlighting their African, Indigenous, and European roots. Drawing on Cultural History, the study employs a qualitative approach, using bibliographic and documentary research along with analysis of samba-enredo lyrics that address colonial themes. The time frame begins in the 1930s, when samba-enredo was established as a Carnival genre. The analysis reveals that samba schools use their parades to revisit historical events and amplify voices silenced by official historiography, such as Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans, and resistance leaders like Zumbi dos Palmares and Ajuricaba. By transforming the parade avenue into a space of memory and historical debate, samba-enredos emerge as legitimate historical sources, capable of engaging the public in critical reflections on the past. This research concludes that samba-enredo is not only a cultural artifact but also a historical document that contributes to the development of a plural, popular, and decentralized historiography.