The arts of composition and improvisation in popular culture. this article explores the bases of sustainability of the patrimonial value of the so-called marginal cultures, taking the arts of composition and improvisation as its empirical referent. the prejudices associating popular culture to shallowness are opposed by the evidences of its creativity. thus, the musical trends and influences on both sides of the atlantic (portugal and brazil) are compared based on a shared matrix of repente melodies and improvisations. the examples of fado and samba are used to illustrate the symbolic variations of cultural production throughout the time: nationality icons may emerge from dens of marginality. subsequently, in a case study involving young portuguese afro-descendants who have no extrinsic or intrinsic motivation to take part in formal school learning, real possibilities of emancipation are shown in music and dance. finally, the article contemplates the possibility of education, given its bet on knowledge, being able to develop an important platform to acknowledge the heritage value of popular culture.
POPULAR CULTURE; PORTUGAL; BRASIL; CRIATIVITY