13 November 2015 Today is the aniversary of Mestre Pastinha’s death, 13/11/1981. A version of a documentary with subtitles has recently been posted on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_90xDdqArz8 (07 Feb 2016, looks like they removed it). Here’s the original without subtitles It’s also Felix’s birthday, so there was a roda to celebrate…
Mestre Poncianinho’s 15 Years of Capoeira in England
26 October 2015 Mestre Poncianinho’s 15 Years of Capoeira in England This weekend saw the celebration fest for our Mestre Poncianinho’s 15 years in England and graduation ceremony. Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday were a roller coaster ride of classes, graduation and emotions and I’m still digesting it all, as…
A negregada instituição
13 Oct 2015 A negregada instituição The word ‘negragada’ confused me – translated directly to English on google translate, it translates as ‘neglected’, however when I look for a Portuguese definition it returns ‘hateful, hard work (as in, causes exhaustion), repulsive, negligible’. To be honest, I’m not sure what it…
Mojubá class – 5th of October 2015 – Jogo de Dentro variations
Mojubá class – 5th of October 2015 – Jogo de Dentro variations Music! We practiced repiques for gunga, medio and viola, also then Jogo de Dentro. I put together this video which has pandeiro, berimbau variations and atabaque (from a couple of weeks ago) for jogo de dentro: Then we…
Galope – Gonzaguinha
We have been learning this song. There are many versions of Galope out there, in Capoeira the words have been changed to fit its context, here are two examples: Gonzaguinha’s Version – 1973 – I won’t translate because this one is worth learning Portuguese just to understand it in its…
How to paint a berimbau
06 May 2015 How to paint a berimbau There comes a time in every capoeirista’s life when they get to build a berimbau. That time is yet to come for me – but the time to learn how to paint one has arrived… A couple of weeks ago Mestre mentioned…
Maracangalha and Mestre Curió (Guest appearance by Mestre Ousado)
18 March 2015 – Maracangalha and Mestre Curió Today we learned this song in our music class, and much more! I extracted the above from this AMAZING album. The more I listen to the more I want to listen to it! I’m going to play it continuously until I know…
Orquestra de Berimbaus do Morro do Querosene
19 Feb 2015 Orquestra de Berimbaus do Morro do Querosene I was searching for the different types of berimbau arrangements in the roda as a result of yesterday’s music class – The first one being gunga: angola, medio: sao bento pequeno, viola: sao bento grande + improv. when I found…
Video and Summary: A Liberdade Do Corpo – Roberto Freire
11 December 2014 Video and Summary: A Liberdade Do Corpo – Roberto Freire Mestre Ze Antonio posted this great video with Roberto Freire (SOMA’s creator, writer, psychiatrist, politician…). It explains how Capoeira can be a weapon in the fight against authoritarianism and what he calls ‘modern white slavery’ (i.e. almost…