Capoeira

Capoeira is a rich cultural experience. It is often characterized by its unique mix of dance and acrobatics combined with the attack and defense elements of traditional martial arts. The live music, singing, clapping and playfulness of the dance is used to disguise the fight.

Many researchers accept the theory that capoeira was developed in Brazil by Africans in the senzalas (slave quarters) and plantations during the colonial era as a form of resistance against slavery. Being from different tribes, with different languages and cultural traditions, a common language was created using music, like drumming and singing and dance. They began to adapt and develop new cultural expressions, even martial arts, perhaps an early form of capoeira, as well as religious practices. Connecting in this way helped build a sense of community in the senzalas, and provided the strength to escape into the surrounding forests, perhaps with the aid of the native Indigenous peoples, where they created hidden villages called quilombos.

Quilombos were safe havens for as many as 30,000 Africans and Indians, as well as a few renegade Europeans. The biggest quilombo was called Quilombo dos Palmares (1605-1694). It remained resilient and protected for almost 100 years. After it was destroyed by Portuguese forces, many of Africans were resold and relocated to the more urban cities of Bahia and Rio de Janeiro where abundant repression of African cultural expressions and manifestations ensued.

Then, in 1888, the Princess Isabel, who ruled Brazil, signed the decree to free all slaves. Life remained extremely difficult for the African people and their children. After the abolition of slavery, capoeira continued to be practiced in the streets and by 1890 it was declared illegal, along with all African cultural manifestations. Capoeira was illegal and punishable by arrest, or often times, torture.

In some areas, capoeira developed into a dangerous street fight and in others, a folkloric dance and tourist attraction. Little by little, this living artform continued to evolve.

Mestre Bimba
Mestre Bimba

In the 1930s, Mestre Bimba (1899/1900-1974) opened an academy to teach capoeira. Although the practice of capoeira was no longer officially illegal, it remained heavily repressed, so Mestre Bimba called his capoeira Luta Regional Baiana (Regional Bahian fight). He created a teaching methodology that revitalized old movements but also created new ones. He taught students of all races, genders and classes how to be smart and strong fighters, both inside and outside the academy. He is the founder and creator of Capoeira Regional.

In 1942, Mestre Pastinha (1889 – 1981) opened the first Angola school which he called the Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola. In light of Mestre Bimba’s newly defined Capoeira Regional, Mestre Pastinha, and others, opted to define and preserve the old way of learning capoeira. Mestre Pastinha is known as the father of Capoeira Angola because of his poetic philosophy, his passion for the art of capoeira and unwavering determination despite constant struggle with local authorities.

In 1953, upon seeing a performance of capoeira by Mestre Bimba and his students, Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas declared that the martial art was indeed a valuable cultural relic, thus ending its illegal status and persecution. Today capoeira is practiced in over 80 countries with more than 120 million practitioners around the world.

By the early 1960’s, a modern capoeira emerged, influenced by both capoeira regional and capoeira angola, fusing them into the popular contemporary style we see today. 

Recommended readings

Almeida, Bira. Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form, 2nd Ed. North Atlantic Books, 1993.

Capoeira, Nestor. The Little Capoeira Book. Alex Ladd, Trans. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 2003.

Filhos de Bimba Escola de Capoeira website. http://www.filhosdebimba.com.br/

Mann, Charles C. and Susanna Hecht. “Where Slaves Ruled,” National Geographic Magazine. April 2012. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/04/maroon-people/mann-hecht-text/1