Coco is an African-influenced musical rhythm that originated in northern Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. "Coco" may also refer to the style of dance performed to the music, a kind of stomping.

The name "Coco" comes from the Brazilian word for head, "cabeça," because song lyrics are often improvised. Coco is often performed with a repetitive musical beat and call and response singing reminsiscent of Capoeira

Capoeira

Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...

 music. The music is commonly performed at traditional parties in the northeast, such as weekend street parties and Carnival

Carnival

Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

.

The characteristic sound of coco arises from four instruments commonly used in its performance: the ganzá

Ganza

The ganzá is a Brazilian rattle used as a percussion instrument, especially in samba music.The ganzá is cylindrically shaped, and can be either a hand-woven basket or a metal canister which is filled with beads, metal balls, pebbles, or other similar items. Those made from metal produce a...

, surdo

Surdo

For the football player of the same name see Surdu.The surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, most notably in Axé/Samba-reggae and samba and its variants, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section....

, pandeiro

Pandeiro

The pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum.There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes...

, and triangle

Triangle (instrument)

The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...

. Performers also often wear wooden clogs, the stomping of which adds a fifth percussive element.

Origins

The origins of coco are as obscure as most Brazilian folk music, but some theories do exist. One theory is that the predecessor to the music was originally brought to Brazil by slaves from Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

, who then created coco by merging their music with local indigenous

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

 rhythms. Another theory is that coco was created by Brazilian slaves who broke coconuts with rocks for their masters. .

Examples on the web

• http://youtube.com/watch?v=s9z3GFLdyP0Coco being performed at "Terça Negra" (Black Tuesday) in São Pedra square in Recife
  Recife
  Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
  
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