The Discoteca Publica Municipal de São Paulo Collection consists of sound recordings, film, photographs, and some manuscript material documenting the music and dance of primarily Afro-Brazilians in northeast Brazil in the late 1930s. Accessioned in 1943 and 1950, it is the product of a four-year correspondence between Oneyda Alvarenga, Director of the Discoteca, and Harold Spivacke, then Chief of the Music Division at the Library of Congress, that resulted in an exchange of folklore materials. It represents one of the first ethnographic compilations of music, dance, and ritual from this area, presenting a view of the cultural life in those states before the modernizing influences that followed World War II and the growth of tourism. The collection also provides an example of the way fieldwork in Brazil was conducted at the time and includes visual documentation of a fieldworker making sound recordings.

The music and dance in the collection includes work songs, songs without dance, dance dramas, ritual ceremonies, solo dances, group dances, songs for children's games, instrumentals, and songs and dances performed at Carnaval. They reflect the diversity of cultural influences in the region: European (Portuguese), Afro-Brazilian, and native Indians. For example, the bumba meu boi dance drama portrays the misfortunes of a prize bull that a cattle rancher has obtained to improve his herd. It is of Portuguese origin with added Brazilian elements. The caboclinho is a Carnaval group of Afro-Brazilians that parade dressed as Amerindians, performing imitative dances to music provided by Afro-Brazilian instruments.

The materials span the years 1938 to 1943, with the largest portion documented in 1938. The collection is divided into four series by format: manuscripts, sound recordings, graphic materials, and moving images. These materials offer access to the events by providing visual and oral documentation.

An inventory provided by the Discoteca (in Portuguese) provides information about the audio recordings and accompanying photographs. A concordance in Appendix A links the audio recordings, photographs, and films for identified events. Besides documenting the events, the photographic prints include images of artifacts, including musical instruments and dance costumes, photographed after they were taken to the Discoteca. Books and notes published by the Discoteca and cataloged by the Library of Congress may provide further insight into the holdings.