Brazilian Portuguese the last decades of the 20th century, due to the popularity of Brazilian music and Brazilian soap operas. Since Brazil joined Mercosul, the South American free trade zone, Portuguese has been increasingly studied as a foreign language in Spanish-speaking partner countries. Many words of Brazilian origin (also used in other Portuguese-speaking countries) have also entered into English: samba, bossa nova, cruzeiro, milreis and capoeira. While originally Angolan, the word "samba" only became famous worldwide because of its popularity in Brazil. After independence in 1822, Brazilian idioms with African and Amerindian influences were brought to Portugal by returning Portuguese Brazilians ("luso-brasileiros"
Dance music as the minuet evolved into the scherzo (literally, "joke"; a faster-paced minuet). Both remained part of the romantic music period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the barcarolle, mazurka and polonaise. Also in the romantic music era, the growth and development of ballet extended the composition of dance music to a new height. Frequently, dance music was a part of opera. Modern popular dance music initially emerged from late 19th century's Western ballroom and social dance music. Dance music works often bear the name of the corresponding dance, e.g. waltzes, the tango, the bolero,