REGGAE, CULTURA E IDENTIDADE NO MARANHÃO

Abstract

The conception about cultural identity in Maranhão, was built around a strong tradition of rhythms, songs and dances, that are manisfested in a large calendar of popular festivals, especially, in the June period and at Carnival. From the seventies of the XX century, some segments of the Maranhão’s population, began to make contact with the Jamaican reggae rhythm, which has come to be defined as one of the most important leisure instruments for segments of the black population and people of mixed race in the suburbs of São Luís. Over the last decades, the rhythm has spread to other parts of the Island, causing rejection and acceptance reactions among different groups, stimulating debates about the issues of culture and identity, especially among intellectuals linked to the local popular culture groups. Our research was on the resignifications that this element has suffered since its dispersion through the Island, acquiring, among its followers, a proper language that is expressed through dances and other codes of communication.