This dissertation gathers critical observations about how samba, as an urban, massive musical manifestation, discusses the current state of a genre that is traditionally presented as the synthesis of national sound, and analyze the reconfiguration of musical compositions in a context of globalized signs. Taking that into consideration, we studied the discourses that still claim the symbolic force of samba as means to legitimate political projects and to consolidate aesthetic standards. These ideas are developed in three essays. The first one is dedicated to the study of cultural policies for the protection of immaterial cultural heritage that took samba as their focus since 2004. The second essay discusses the traditionalist branch of popular music criticism by analyzing the works of two of its main exponents: the historian José Ramos Tinhorão and the researcher and composer Nei Lopes. The last chapter discusses the claim of an exclusive line in the development of samba by more conservative artists, and the deviations promoted by new means of musical creation and circulation.