A radio broadcaster called Aroldo Caraciolo who was living in Belém in the Brazilian State of Pará in the sixties, claims to have been the first to use the term ‘lambada’ (meaning ‘whip’ or ‘punch’) for music that he thought had a kick to it like a dose of cachaca. These early ‘Lambadas’ as they were collectively called, plus a blend of cumbia, choro, merengue and carimbo called guitarrada - inspired people from Belém and further south to dance to them in a simple fashion using the influences of their own backgrounds - Maxixe, Carimbo and Lundu from Africa, Cumbia and Merengue from South America, Polka that had come from Europe, and Forró that was already popular in Brazil. When the early Lambada music reached Porto Seguro in Bahia, it was first danced to in Porto clubs that had reputations for being bordellos, in a very sensual, grinding fashion without form or partner separation. Despite its clandestine nature, it grew in popularity and emerged as a highly popular dance rivaling forró. At this point it was still a dance that had little form - just something couples enjoyed in the street or in bars, or on the beach. It was characterized by close-embrace, with side-by-side stepping to the beat, and was not accepted by many people because it was considered too sensual, and associated with the bordellos. But once a large beach cabana in Porto Seguro called Boca da Barra opened its doors to lambada dancers, the dance began to really develop in a rather public way. Small lambada bars and schools around greater Porto opened, such as Jacoba in the church square at Arrial d’Ajuda. Soon, the popularity of Lambada grown immensely, to the point where tourists began flocking to watch the young lambadeiras performing, teaching and competing. At that point, dancers were still not allowed to separate during competitions, and the dance remained simple with very few steps. It was more of an athletic achievement - lambada marathons were introduced in which dancers would dance for ten hours or more for modest prizes.