The flavors of Brazilian pop music

Specialists seem to agree that the modinha¹ - originated from the Portuguese moda and the African lundu² - is the main influence of Brazilian pop music. Surely the Indians had an ancestral custom of ritual dancing and they also used to drink and sing, making noisy drinking festivities; yet they hardly gave any contribution to the formation of our samba. In fact, it was the mix of melodious lyrics brought by the Portuguese and the sensual exciting rhythm practiced by the African slaves that gave shape to the typical Brazilian musicality, in a secular process involving all social segments of a forming nation.