A new Colorado Samba King and Queen were named during a showcase in Boulder on Saturday.
The event at The Spark included days of Brazilian dance and music workshops, and its centerpiece was a performance with dancers from around the country competing to become a part of samba royalty. But the event also highlighted that samba is about more than the glamorous costumes and rhythm of the drums.
“It's not just another sparkle dress event, here's your trophy and you win,” said Kebrina Josefina De Jesús, founder and artistic director of Samba Colorado. “It's an event where the community can get together to remember their ancestors, to heal and to really remember where samba came from; that it does come from Africa and it does come from pain.”
Organizing an event like this has been De Jesús’ dream for more than 15 years, since she visited Brazil and experienced Carnival.
Now in its second year, De Jesús and her collaborators wanted to get back to the heart of samba — both its origins and its ability to build community. The showcase became a celebration of the music and culture, as well as a reminder about the dark history that led to samba’s creation. The Brazilian musical and dance style has its roots in African cultural and religious traditions.
“This show is about roots, it's about remembrance, it's about resistance, it's about samba, and it's about how we can support marginalized communities and uplift voices that are not being heard,” she said.
Angela Merlano, who performed in the Samba Queen category, is a long-time dancer, but newer to samba.
“It feels like every day I fall more and more in love with [samba] and just the energy and the passion,” Merlano said. “It is the embodiment of owning who you are and owning the space, the stage, and just leaving it all on the dance floor.”
Sara Caldiero came in from Utah with her group Salt Lake Samba, which also performed at the first Samba Queen and King Colorado last year. Caldiero said taking part in the event felt like “coming home to family.”
“Kebrina and her group, they really are welcoming. They come to Salt Lake all the time, and so there's this exchange of energy of people coming together for different events. It's these little moments that we create, these long-lasting friendships,” Caldiero said.
The judges watched for things like technique, performance quality, musicality and how well the costume suited the routine, and in the end, they named Israel “Izzy” Jiménez of Denver Samba King 2025.
Jiménez started with Samba Colorado in 2019 “just to get my body moving.”
“But then I just dove in, let samba take me and oh my God, it's just been fulfilling,” he said. “Even more so to win a title. And titles are nice and everything, but ultimately dancing with the community, that's the best reward.”
Amenagawon Ighodaro, of Chicago, said her samba journey began as a spiritual one.
“It's been quite the challenge to maintain that during practicing and training and trying to stay true to myself and stay true to the roots of samba,” she said. “That’s really important because it is something that is of African roots, but over years it has become a lot more commercialized, and as a result of that, we tend to see a lot of that Africanness taken out.”
And for her, that made earning the title of Samba Queen extra special.
“With me being someone of the diaspora, it was extremely important for me… to tap into the spiritual side of samba when I'm dancing, so that way I'm not so focused on steps, but feeling the music in that moment.”
“I always like to say everyone is a king and queen. Everyone is worthy to be here… Everyone is a winner because they had the courage to share their story on stage,” De Jesús said.
Ighodaro added: “I think anybody who is interested in samba should try it.”
For anyone in the community wanting to try samba, Samba Colorado offers classes in Denver every week.
