Marrabenta

Marrabenta is the urban dance music of southern Mozambique, born in the working-class suburbs of Lourenço Marques, now Maputo, in the mid-twentieth century. It blends Mozambican rhythms with Portuguese folk song and the Western popular music arriving by radio, played on guitars and later full electric bands with horns, and sung in Portuguese and Changana. From *Fany Pfumo*'s generation through *Orchestra Marrabenta Star de Moçambique*, *Eyuphuro* and *Ghorwane*, it remains Mozambique's emblematic popular style. Its guitar figures and relaxed swing distinguish it from every neighboring dance music.