Samba community

Samba is a non-fiction book by Mexican writer Alma Guillermoprieto, published in 1990 by Alfred A. Knopf. The book follows the author as she joins the Mangueira team of samba dancers to enter the annual Carnival contest, which all in the community contribute to, despite their poverty and the high cost of preparations. A key theme in the book is the African roots of the Mangueira team. Emotions and tempers escalate, finally resolving when the carnival begins and the team becomes immersed in the sensualism of the carnival. The book is a journey through the Brazilian favela's culture of poverty.