SOUTH AMERICA

Few places are as closely tied to a musical style as Rio is to samba – the seductive mix of drum beats and dance that speaks as much of the West African DNA in Brazil’s gene pool as its most famous city’s love of a party. However, this century has seen the arrival of pagode – a slower, saccharine subgenre of samba that racks up streams in the millions.

Key location:

The Sambadrome (sambadrome.com) – the hallowed arena where 90,000 people gather to watch the samba schools shake, every evening during the Rio Carnival.

Ferrugem: Voce e

Essential track:

Eu (2018).

How to do it: Rio has pushed its

2021 Carnival back to July 11-12 (riocarnaval.org) – which may make a trip plausible. Journey Latin America (020 3733 8024; journeylatinamerica. co.uk) offers a nine-day Rio Carnival Holiday from £3,120 per person, not including flights.

BUENOS AIRES

It is, of course, the intuitive movements of the body-pressed participants that make tango, Argentina’s (and Uruguay’s) most passionate dance, such a remarkable spectacle. But the music that has underpinned it since the late 19th century – the melodies often paired with lyrical outpourings of sadness and lost love – helps give the art form its supple grace.

Key location:

The Teatro Astor Piazzolla (teatroastorpiazzolla.com), the belle époque joy, named after the Argentine tango composer, where you can watch professionals twirl. Essential track: Carlos Gardel: El Dia Que Me Quieras (1935).

How to do it: Latin Routes (020 8546 6222; latinroutes.co.uk) offers an eight-day tango holiday in

Buenos Aires that includes six private lessons. From £1,948 per person, including flights.

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A Brazilian dancer performs at the Sambadrome during the Rio Carnival

Tango dancers performing at Plaza Dorrego in Buenos Aires, Argentina