Lundu

A Brazilian dance and musical style with origins in Bantu and Portuguese rhythms. Lundus are characterized by varying structures, the interplay of tonic and dominant harmony, and strummed chords layered atop a syncopated rhythm reminiscent of traditional West African music. Often a flirtatious form of couples dance accompanied by a guitar, or sometimes a thumb piano or drums, lundu is related to the Spanish fandango and other New World dances like the Argentine zamba, the Peruvian zamacueca, and the Cuban bolero—they all involve, to some degree, handkerchiefs, castanets, and holding one’s arms above one’s head. In the 19th century, the lundu was one of the sources of the choro, the maxixe, and the samba. 1700s–1900s.