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SambaDá
SambaDá is a Brazilian samba band based in Santa Cruz, CA and was founded by capoeira master Papiba Godinho in 1997. The band is influenced by hybrid musical sounds of African-Brazilian percussion music (bloco afro). There is also a mixture of many genres within their music, but mainly samba-reggae, surf-rock, and California funk, that separate them from more traditional samba groups in Brazil.

Since 2003, they have released three albums titled Novas Raizes, New Roots (2003)., Salve a Bahia (2007)., and most recently Gente! (2010). Their second and third album were produced by 3-time grammy nominated Greg Landau.

SambaDá performs throughout the country, but mainly all over California. Their performances are ritualized because of the influence of the Candomblé, the religion practiced by Dandha da Hora who does lead Vocals, Percussion, and Dance for the band. De Hora has been part of Ilê Aiyê, one of Brazil's most important musical and cultural institutions[1 ], since the age of six, where she was lead dancer. Coming from Salvador, Bahia which is the largest Black community outside of Africa, De Hora has incorporated many African sounds and rhythms into SambaDá's music.

Samba music cannot be separated from dance; it is a culture. 2 This is why many of SambaDá's performances revolve so strongly around dance. Dance is such an integral part of the band that often times their performances are followed by Capoeira workshops partnering with Capoeira Academies established around the Bay Area. Dance and Capoeira, however; are not the only ritual portions of their performances. The band is considered a spectacle when they perform because of the way the band interacts with the audience. The band's guitarist Will Khan often jumps into the ocean when they perform. These actions help to represent the band's overall representation as samba as a verb, not only a noun,

Themes
SambaDá touches on countless themes but amongst the most recurrent are love, family, the ocean, Bahia, race, and politics. The song "Meu Pai", written by Godinho, is an example of how the band touches upon the subject of family. In the song, Godinho expresses how he felt and reacted to finding out that his father was ill. Like most bands, the situations they are presented with and their everyday experiences are inspiration for their song lyrics. Racial discrimination is a daily occurrence in Brazil so it is mentioned in some of their songs. Brazil has been highly segregated since Blacks were brought from Africa as slaves and not until recently were Blacks even allowed to participate in Brazilian Carnaval.3 Since the IMF intervention in Brazil in late 1970s, inequality and racial segregation grew. 4 Salvador, Bahia which is where Da Hora is from, is mostly made up of favelas, in which mainly Black Brazilians reside. Amongst these impoverished communities is where Samba began.

Even though there is a large presence of favelas, the group still chooses to pay homage to Brazil in many of their songs. Because of Bahia's high concentration of Africans, it is rich with culture and the place they talk about most. The song "Casa de Mãeinha" translates to "My Mother's House" and is a tribute to the people of Bahia who were very welcoming of the band. Brazil's landscape is also inspiration to the band and is discussed in many of the songs. Surrounded by beaches and amazon, the physical diversity of the land evokes different feelings in the band, and is this is expressed in their song lyrics. Capoeira is often performed on the beaches of Brazil and because many of the band members originated from Godinho's Capoeira classes, they have produced a Capoeira style song titled "Capu Funk". Capoeira has its own unique musical style, that is purely percussionist, but the band went in and incorporated more of their flavor into their own rendition of a Capoeira song.

Transculturation
The way in which SambaDá merges together many genres of music is also a symbol of transculturation. The group is composed of people from many different musical backgrounds, creating a sound that is unlike traditional Samba group music. SambaDá also uses more unconventional instruments like the flute and saxophone. The group's routine participation in Carnaval San Francisco is a place in which they can showcase their music along with over 50 other contingents. Although there are many countries represented, Brazil's Samba is the most popular and most celebrated culture at the event. Events like Carnaval in the United States provide the opportunity and social space for groups that are normally underrepresented to perform the traditions of their home countries. The way in which these groups often add new sounds and beats they've picked up by living in the US is transculturation. Besides the way in which SambaDá performs transculturation through their meshing of the genre, Samba music in itself has always been transculturated. It was created by Africans in Brazil fusing together African beats with American orchestra sounds that emerged after World War 2.

Authenticity
An issue that SambaDá and many other Latin American bands located in the U.S have to address is the subject of authenticity. Since the majority of the band members are not directly from Brazil (many of them still strongly associate with that heritage), they turn to Godinho and Da Hora to give their music a sense of authenticity. On their website, the band discusses feeling nervous to play their music in Brazil because of the response they would have there, since they were accustomed to performing to American audiences. Through these experiences the band came to the realization that they were authentic in the fact that their music was a hybrid of what all the members have contributed. By embracing their difference, they have successfully been accepted into the Brazilian samba circle and were the first American band to perform for Ilê Aiyê, which is the ultimate sign that they "have made it". Although they are no longer nervous to perform for a Brazilian audience, they are still careful to not disrespect more traditional samba groups and are selective with the songs they choose to cover. If they choose to cover a very famous song like "Sangue Africano", which is the first song performed by a female in Afro-bloco, they have to make sure they do it justice or else the criticism will be harsh. Ultimately, the band has been welcomed by Brazilain audiences, but remained labeled "American" and thus continue to be "othered". On the website the band addresses this by asking "Which is better? To be close to the ones you love, or to make a new community your own?" 5. Their overall goal is to do both of those things.

Band Members
Godinho was born and raised in Brazilia, Brazil and came to Santa Cruz in 1992. His background in Capoeira is present in the music and lyrics, as he is the main song writer for the band.
 * Papiba Godinho. (Lead vocals, Guitar, Cavaco, and Percussion)

She is the longest standing dancer in Ilê Aiyê and besides her work of the work for the band, she also teaches dance throughout the Bay Area.
 * Dandha Da Hora. (Lead vocals, Percussion, and Dance)

Stafford has an extensive background in Jazz studies and and ethnomusicology which has helped morph some of the band's sounds. She has also studied with saxophonist Mel Martin and has performed with Esther's Klezmer Band.
 * Anne Stafford. (Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Percussion, and Vocals)

Dorn has a background in music studies and has a full time career in music. He founded the band Burn and has played with Broken English a salsa band.
 * Kevin Dorn. (Bass and Percussion)

Kehoe studied music with renowned improvisational group Oregon. He has played with countless Bay Area groups since the late 70s and has been making music in Santa Cruz for over thirty years.
 * Gary Kehoe. (Drumset, Percussion, and Vocals)

Kahn has studied with notable Bay Area drum teachers Chuck Brown and Ken Dalluge. Will is a producer, engineer, musician, and arranger. He is responsible for the engineering of the last two albums of SambaDá.
 * Will Kahn. (Electric Guitar, MPC, Percussion, Drumset, and Vocals)

Besides the music contributions to the band, Menard is also artistic designer for all of SambaDá's graphics and website.
 * Marcel Menard. (Percussion and Vocals)

Also a member of the Ilê Aiyê, Peeter has been playing the drums since the age 14 and is now a drumming instructor in Santa Cruz.
 * Marcio Peeter. (Percussion)

Profeta has been playing drums since the age of 9 and like Da Hora is from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. He developed his skills from Ilê Aiyê like his other two band mates.
 * Wagner Santos Profeta. (Percussion and Vocals)