4capoeirathoughts

After I wrote Paulo Freire’s Philosophy of Education and the ‘Politics of Capoeira’ students and friends became more curious to discuss his work. His method has been a frequent topic in classes, trips, and e-mail conversations. Looking for resources in English I found some bits and pieces of interviews, seminars, and websites that might help those still not familiar with his theories and methods while searching for his books. For those who have been looking at issues of hierarchy, ethics, ‘culture shock’, and group/style rivalry, these sources may come in useful. (more…)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGhONWz7L-Q] (Caption: In a Sunday afternoon in Rio de Janeiro 30 youngster capoeiras gathered themselves to exchange ideas and they got to the following conclusion: Capoeira is a *Bamba’s thing!)

* – Bamba – Someone adept at verbal and physical dueling; synonym for capoeira expert. (more…)

(Captions can be turned on using the ‘cc’ option, on the far right arrow – pointing up – bellow the youtube screen)

“We come from the confluence, the cultural shock, the mingling of the Portuguese invader with our native Indians and African natives. We are a syncretic culture a new people who, despite being the off spring of the fusion of different matrices behave as one people not holding on to the past. We are open to the future. (Ribeiro; 1995)”

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Erica, João Grande, Fafá and Joãonete. By Fabrício Ferreira

Very often I am asked “- What is ‘Volta Por Cima’?”. Most people must be thinking I have started a new group or brand. That is not the case. Mestre Suassuna’s work inspired many of my endeavours in Capoeira, including the development of the social project Learning From Brazilian Culture. However, this project’s design reflects much of my personal grasp of Capoeira, and is based on other Mestres’ teachings, scholars and artists as well. Hence, I needed to start an independent institution, and that is how the ‘Volta Por Cima – Capoeira, Education, and Culture’ begun. I chose this name for two reasons. First, because it is a movement that embodies the principles of an elegant and skilful Capoeira so present in Mestre Suassuna’s teachings. Second, because in Brazilian Portuguese the expression ‘dando [doing] a Volta Por Cima’ also means recovering one’s life after being through a very troublesome period. A perfect name for a project designed to promote social inclusion. (more…)

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…)