The sounds of the Black Atlantic

Abstract

This work looks at the presence of reggae in Maranhão. Interpreting it as a rhythm 01 Alrican roots, cultivated in Jamaica in the beginning of the sixties, carrying the marks of clear cultural and political connotations, the author shows how the reggae is  onstructed, historically, from the seventies in the maranhão territory. In this perspective, putting the story of this rhythm in this context, there he points out its associations with other local cultural expressions, like Bumba-meu-boi, and he mentions processes of different meanings, and speaks of a possible ethnic and racial identification between the people of Maranhão and Jamaica, drawing attention to the predominance of the negro population and the cultural heritage of the African slaves.