4capoeirathoughts

On the 5^th of April of 1889 Mestre Pastinha was born. Since last month I have been trying to pay a tribute to ‘Seu Vicente’, his life and work. The space constrains of a blog post will never allow justice to his devotion to Capoeira neither to the value of his legacy. Nonetheless, posting in english, and combining different sources, I hope to inspire our english-speaker-brothers in their quest for knowledge about our honourable Mestre and Capoeira in general. (more…)

“I finally understand Capoeira Angola, as an idea, not a style! It adds values that defines it as a way, an ideal, a cause, an action linked directly to social causes, to the union of the excluded, to the cry of the humble, to the voice of the commoners and all those in need of discernment…”

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“You wanna learn about Brazilian history without going through the books, you can just listen to the music and you’ll understand everything…”

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Politicking is a power and money-driven practice of a few, which causes the withdrawal of many devoted students and young instructors in Capoeira. Conversely, politics can be a way to engage and take action against politicking and other unhealthy practices within the art. A way of re-organising Capoeira towards more noble values and purposes within our communities. Freire’s argument for a libertarian process of education helps demystify the discussion of a ‘neutral’ versus a politicised approach to the art.

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This is the final post on Mestre Suassuna’s biography, in it he covers his decision of moving to São Paulo, his difficulties as an interstate migrant and harsh times endeavouring to establish the practice of Capoeira in the South-east of Brazil.

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Continuing the posts on Mestre Suassuna’s biography, in this third post he shares more of trips to Salvador and the cultural context of that time. He also shares his experience with the beginning of the folkloric groups, Capoeira Angola and Regional, and why he believes Mestres Pastinha and Bimba surpassed the others. (more…)

This is the second post of the series on Mestre Suassuna’s life. It approaches his first trips to Salvador, contacts with other Mestres, and early take on Capoeira teaching in Itabuna. (more…)

This post on Mestre Suassuna’s life is a translation (made by me) from the chapter “Reynaldo Ramos Suassuna. Mestre Suassuna by himself” in Mestre Deputado’s book “Menino Quem foi teu Mestre?”(2004).

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João Grande doing a Volta Por Cima by André Santangelo

This letter was first written on the 17^th of September of 2007 in Brasília, a few months before my departure to New Zealand. Despite some achievements, I am still developing the project together with our school’s students. However, I believe it is time to share these thoughts with a larger number of students and friends. Hopefully this letter will inspire some of you to join the ongoing composition of our school’s political and pedagogic guidelines, or at least to share some thoughts with us. (more…)

Capoeira – The Brazilian People’s Wisdom post received some interesting comments on the role of traditions, as well as the invention of traditions¹. A few of our counterparts shared their experience regarding these issues and dropped me some questions.

I do not think anyone is in position to point out what is right or wrong in Capoeira, or what cultural practices we should adopt or vanish from the art. However, it is one of my main goals in writing 4 Capoeira Thoughts, to share with you a few of my insights from nearly 20 years of practice, a lot of my still remaining questions, and invite you to come along in my quest; hopefully, weaving our paths. (more…)