ideology of miscegenation in vogue with the construction of nationalism under the Getulio Vargas regime. From an image of a symbol of national backwardness, the mestizo became a representative of Brazilian singularities, and samba, with its mestizo origin, ended up linked to the construction of national identity. Having acted decisively for the growth of radio in Brazil, the Vargas government perceived samba as a vital element in the construction of this idea of miscegenation. Samba's triumph over the airwaves allowed it to penetrate all sectors of Brazilian society. Especially under the Estado Novo, whose ideological cultural policy of reconceptualizing the popular and extolling everything that was considered an authentic national expression, samba was elevated to the position of major national symbol of the country and the official pace of the country. However, one of the concerns of the Vargas regime was to interfere in music production to promote samba as a means of "pedagogical" socialization, that is, by banning compositions that confront the regime's ethics. In this quest to "civilize" samba, political bodies such as the Department of Press and Propaganda (DIP, Departamento de Imprensa e Propaganda) took action to order sambas that would exalt the work and censor lyrics that addressed bohemia and malandragem, two of the most common themes in the tradition of the urban Carioca samba. Musical contests were also instituted through which public opinion elected its favorite composers and performers. Under Vargas, samba had an expressive weight in the construction of an image of Brazil abroad and was an important means of cultural and tourist dissemination of the country. In an attempt to reinforce a positive national image, the presence of renowned singers of the kind in presidential committees to Latin American countries has become frequent. At the end of 1937, the sambistas Paulo da Portela and Heitor dos Prazeres participated in a caravan of Brazilian artists to Montevideo that performed at the Gran Exposición Feria Internacional del Uruguay. The Brazilian government also financed an information and popular music program called "Uma Hora do Brasil", produced and broadcast by Radio El Mundo, from Buenos Aires, which had at least one broadcast to Nazi Germany. When the Vargas regime approached the United States, DIP made an agreement to broadcast Brazilian radio programs on hundreds of CBS radio network. Under this context, the samba "Aquarela do Brasil" (by Ary Barroso) was released in the United States market, becoming