Story reposted with permission from The Times-Standard.
There is something about Humboldt and Samba, something that just fits. We’re fortunate, given that, to have two organizations collaborating to provide Samba classes and performances. Samba do Mar Humboldt provides the dance side of the art. Samba da Alegria is about percussion. Both organizations work together to present the annual Samba Parade, a highlight of autumn’s North Country Fair. Both groups also happen to be DreamMaker Projects of the Ink People Center for the Arts.
Samba da Alegria organized the parade for many years. In 2024, Samba do Mar Humboldt was formed. The two organizations came together to focus on their specific areas of strength and better organize the parade. While the Samba Parade is the year’s big event, Samba da Alegria participates in the community in other ways, such as gigs at the Friday Night Market. Samba do Mar Humboldt considers the parade their version of Carnaval but performs in other places too.
I spoke with Neil Bost of Samba da Alegria and Maria Vanderhorst, who leads Samba do Mar Humboldt. Neither has Brazilian roots, but both fell in love with the culture. I asked them what drew the two of them to samba.
Neil described having a knack for percussion and performing on the drum line during high school. He came to Cal Poly Humboldt and joined the World Percussion program.
“There’s something about the rhythms,” he said, “something so unique, so engaging, interesting and complex.”
As he dug in more, he found samba to invite community engagement in a more accessible way than other percussion modalities he explored. He described it as seeing and building community through music.
Maria’s story proved to be similar. Her first taste of samba came at the North Country Fair, and she was immediately drawn to “the sheer joy, the power.” She quickly decided that she wanted to learn the art form directly from Brazilians, first in San Francisco and then traveling to Brazil. She formed a deep respect for the history of the dance and music, which originated with enslaved Africans in Brazil attempting to keep some of their traditions. Over time, Afro-Brazilian dance became samba.
Maria shared a favorite story. She had taken a break from samba and then had the opportunity to direct the parade again in 2024 after receiving more training. Neil had chosen a song in the samba enredo style (“enredo” used this way refers to a theme, and samba schools select a theme every year, a story they will tell during the Carnaval parade). Maria remembers hearing the group rehearsing this song while dancing and drumming, hearing and seeing them accomplish the task of doing it well, respectfully and successfully, at the old Bank of America corner.
Not surprisingly, the parade drives a lot of interest and brings new participants to both groups. This year’s parade falls on Sunday, September 20, but preparation begins imminently.
Drumming classes for the parade start on July 12, are held each Sundays and will run until the parade date in September. Neil stresses that this is open to all levels — beginners are absolutely welcome. It’s a very welcoming community, Neil says, and some call the experience life-changing.
“The crowd, the energy, you’re not going to regret it,” Neil said.
All class participants do is show up; Samba da Alegria provides all of the instruments needed. He also mentioned that they can accommodate physical constraints.
On the dance side, classes start July 9 (you need to be involved by July 23 to be able to make the deadline for ordering costumes). Again, all levels are welcome. Maria is basing much of this year’s classes on the Carnaval training and experience she gained earlier this year in Rio de Janeiro.
The two groups are seeking volunteers to help at the Samba Parade performing support tasks. While the board of Samba do Mar Humboldt doesn’t have fiduciary duties (that would be the Ink People board), there is a board that Maria taps for decision-making and policy guidance. She’s currently seeking new members to diversify that group.
To stay in touch with Samba da Alegria, contact them via email at samba.arcata@inkpeople.org and get on the mailing list or visit Instagram: @samba.arcata. To reach out to Samba do Mar Humboldt, go to www.sambadomarhumboldt.org.
In the end, it’s about music and dance. As Neil stated near the end of our talk, “this experience has the potential to be some of the most fun you’ve ever had in your life.”
Michael Kraft writes the Good Work series, volunteering on behalf of the Northern California Association of Nonprofits (NorCAN). NorCAN, also a DreamMaker project, supports connections between people and organizations that work every day to keep our communities strong by offering professional development, board support, networking connections and more. Learn more at https://norcal-nonprofits.org/. To nominate a deserving nonprofit organization to be profiled, email michael@kraftconsultants.com.