Agência Brasil
Brasília – The Ministry of Culture wants Unesco to declare the samba a World Cultural Heritage. The decision to make the request official was made at a meeting attended by minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, the president of the Institute of Historical and Artistic Landmarks (Iphan), Antônio Augusto Arantes, and the sociologist and cultural historian, Hermano Vianna. During the meeting the participants consulted by telephone with the historian, Muniz Sodré.
The process to transform Brazilian samba music and dance into a recognized World Cultural Heritage will probably take at least until September, involving various consultations, the gathering of documents and the compilation of a dossier. The study and research phase will be coordinated by Iphan.
According to the president of Iphan, other countries are doing the same with expressions of their culture at the global, multilateral level and it is time for Brazil to do the same with its samba. Arantes explains that what Brazil has to do is prove the uniqueness of the samba – both the music and dance (or choreography) – including its African origins. Arantes believes that a detailed, careful study of the samba could lead to a broader government policy of protection and safeguarding of other things Brazilian.