Lambada: A History” is really interesting because it is composed of many narratives, and it is rather hard to hear one and the same story of Lambada. But undoubtedly, the fact remains that the Lambada is one of the most celebrated and popular Latin dances, known and danced around the universe.
The word “lambada” refers to the rhythm (a mixture of carimbo and merengue) and dance that combines elements of Forro (forró), Obeche, Merengue, and Maxixe (Brazilian dance of the 19th century), which had huge success in Europe. Lambada became the most popular dance in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This fiery dance, which was born in Latin America, ruled the entire planet, and in Europe, it sold over two million records with Lambada music. People were amazed by this music that reminded them of the rustling of palm trees, the lapping of the warm ocean, and the singing of birds. That’s why, in the early 90s, almost every day, American and European television showed a video of Lambada being danced by professional South American dancers. It was a true musical performance video, which was like a dance school, and it opened up a whole universe of Latin American culture. Europeans and Americans took Lambada with enthusiasm, admired the fiery and the brightness of Hispanics, and soon Lambada was danced throughout Europe and America.
The history of Lambada and its relationship with the universe of music:
The beginnings of Lambada dance came from “carimbo” – at the time when Brazil was a Portuguese colony (1500-1822), in the northern part of the country, there was a popular dance called carimbo, which was a very animalistic dance of men and women. Over time, the dance changed, and the music changed with it. Due to the proximity to the Caribbean region, Caribbean music culture had a strong influence on Brazilian music (even today, you can feel it if you listen to Caribbean radio stations in the northern provinces of Brazil). This close relationship gave birth to some new rhythms – Sirimbo and Lari Lari; then, carimbo dance finally changed so much that it gave birth to practically a new one. After some time, the local radio station in Belem (capital of Para) began to call this new type of music “percussion beat” and “the beat of Lambada” (the word “lambada” means a strong rhythmic beat of music). This last name, “Lambada,” became very popular and became associated with the new image of the old dance style.
Later, people once again began to dance carimbo in pairs, and it was very much like merengue but had a larger number of spins. In the end, a mixture of metal and electronic music of the Caribbean once again changed the face of carimbo, and the music quickly spread throughout the northeastern part of Brazil (the most touristic places). Only this new “carimbo” was already called Lambada.
Lambada long traveled along the seashore, and eventually reached Bahia (the oldest of the Brazilian provinces), where it began to see the consequence of dance Forró (another old Brazilian manner with the tonic beat). Gradually, the timing of Lambada from a 4/4 changed to 2/2, so it can be confidently said that it was so Lambada wholly lost its resemblance to the Carimbo. Lambada was danced with dead set legs, steps were made from side to side and never from front to back. In a manner were tight skirts, and it happened so that they began to be associated with the Lambada, and Lambada – with them. Even present in some places (for example in “Lambar” – in the cabaret of the city of Sao Paulo) we can still run into the classic couples: a lady in a narrow skirt and a man in long pants. (Kempley, 1990)
Together with the “Trio elétricos” (great mobile platform in which musicians perform dancing and singing during the Carnival), Lambada began to spread along Bahia and settled in the town of Porto Seguro. During the first roar of Lambada in the southeastern part of Brazil (the most economically developed), it referred to the beat that came from Bahia, and it was assumed that all these rhythms live merely in the summer and then die. While all acknowledged that the Lambada was a real rush of the summer, many early lambaterii (places where the Lambada was danced) were closed in winter when tourists left. However, Lambada did not die…
The narrative of Lambada spread to Europe says that one day in late summer, several French businessmen came to Brazil and bought the music rights to 300 songs in the manner of Lambada. Then they returned to France and organized a group “Kaoma”, investing a lot of money in its promotion. In that manner, the Lambada style became known throughout the world and reached even the Far East, where it has remained to this day. The world fever of Lambada was so strong that it even returned to Brazil, to the most economically developed southeastern part, that has already forgotten it. The fact that today in Brazil there are thousands of schools of dance hall dance, great competitions, and tens of thousands of dancers is a virtue of the French “Kaoma” and their international success.
This second wave was called the Second Boom of Lambada, and this event greatly influenced the world culture. First of all, Lambada became an international phenomenon when millions of young people again began to dance in pairs and evoked a wave of interest in Latin American culture.
Having spread around the universe, the dance has changed dramatically. Due to the fact that in Europe there was a deficiency of good dancers of Lambada (for illustration for films and shows), most professionals had to make alterations to it: the Lambada was added with whirling and steppe-like elements from jive and East Coast swing, as well as some acrobatic motions. Many dancers have begun to mix Lambada with other musical manners, trying to make something new and unusual.
As for the Lambada music, it was played on all radio stations, and some musicians (e.g., Sidney Magal and Fafa de Belem), seeking to follow this new wave, created new real hits on its basis. However, reasonably soon, people discovered that their interest in the Lambada was based solely on efforts to gain more money, and these instrumentalists were quickly forgotten. After some time, many composers of Lambada seemed to be forgotten, and this music and dance were losing their power, and millions of fans around the world were helpless before it. Other musicians have begun to mix Lambada with other musical manners, mixing Lambada with Caribbean Soca, Merengue, Salsa, and Zouk. Anyway, now Zouk is a child, a native son of our beloved old Lambada.
Thus, we can say that Lambada is a real beat of Latin America, which has a rich and bright national culture. The history of success and spread of Lambada throughout the world shows that the culture of Latin America is really popular and interesting to people around the world. Latin American dances are always very popular; millions of people around the world love to dance them. Besides, Latin American music attracts Europeans and Americans with its incendiary beat, unique power. Lambada became one of the most brilliant and incendiary dances, which danced the whole universe, and despite the fact that its success is already lost, the epoch of Lambada opened the brightness of the culture in Latin America to the universe and brought new sound and rhythms to the universe music industry.
