From Ipanema Across the Ocean – Brazil’s Image Abroad Through Music
From Ipanema Across the Ocean – Brazil’s Image Abroad Through Music

Summary/Abstract: Brazilian music carries strong characteristics of its people and has become one of the most recognizable features of the country abroad. In this study, I analyze how Brazil is pictured overseas by the means of music as an element of soft power of the country. Nonetheless, I bring attention to the importance of self-awareness of the Brazilian identity and its rela- tions with the image that the country has abroad. I address the issue through analysis of the cases of Heitor Villa-Lobos, Carmem Miranda, bossa nova, and heavy metal. In this analysis, the role of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also taken into account. I suggest that Oswald de Andrade’s anthropophagic idea can apply to the reflections of Brazilians towards their image abroad.

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