Singing for Survival: Capoeira History

In this episode, I collaborate with Natasha Távora Baker (Pequena) from the podcast Natasha Explains it All to talk about how organized labor actions led to the abolition of slavery in Fortaleza, 5 whole years before the passing of the Golden Law in 1888! We dig into a key figure in this process, Dragão do Mar, and also dig into the history and timeline of the abolition movement in Brazil.Natasha's Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Qozp50WJWy03nnUQw42O8?si=97e20c0695fe480f

Paranaue is arguably the most popular and well known song in Capoeira, and it's probably the most well known Capoeira song to people outside of the art. It’s the song people sing as a joke when they can tell the people around them don't know the song they’re singing. But what is it that we are actually singing about? If you take a cursory look at the lyrics, it honestly isn’t really clear. The verses are often improvised for situational relevance, and even the “standard” verses seem at best o...

In this episode I want to talk about arguably the most important instrument in the Capoeira bateria, the berimbau. The berimbau is an instantly recognizable symbol of Capoeira in the modern day, and in most circles is what leads the roda itself. At some point we all learn how to play this instrument and expect to see it in every roda we attend, but in some ways, there are questions about the instrument itself that we take for granted due to its ubiquitousness. Things like: where did this inst...

In this episode, we take a look at apelidos: what are they, where do they come from, and how should we use them going forward? This is inspired by and informed from a survey of 75 Capoeiristas polled through the Capoeira sub-reddit on their experience with apelidos.I hope you enjoy and please send any comments and questions to [email protected] is Capoeira Proibida by Mestre Coreba

Today’s episode is not about a person or even a legend within Capoeira. Instead I want to talk about a Brazilian cultural folklore, Saci Perere. Saci is a figure that I have been vaguely aware of for some time. I’ve known several people who were nicknamed Saci, and have heard Saci mentioned in several songs, but wasn’t really aware of who or what he is. So in this episode we dig into this folk trickster, examining who he is, where his story comes from, and what cultural relevance he has today...

A very special episode where I collaborate with the folks from the Only the Strongest podcast to talk about Capoeira history! If you like this episode, please check them out here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3jw3OGIPDqc2jL8isOFHVD?si=d69e3054ab40433bAs always, feel free to send me any questions, comments or stories at: [email protected]

Super brief bonus episode while I work on the next main one. Here I share my thoughts on the importance of learning our "present histories" and how many figures we may consider historical are still dynamic, active, and changing.Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or stories at [email protected]

Today’s episode we will not be talking directly about Capoeira, but instead about a related Afro-Brazilian art that has become inextricably tied to Capoiera: Maculele. Most people who’ve been in Capoeira for some significant amount of time, have been at least exposed to Maculele, if not actively practiced it. It is a dance form of simulated combat with sticks, performed to a very specific drum rhythm, often performed with machetes and/or in extravagant costumes.In today’s discussion, I’ll be ...

Today’s episode is going to be a complete departure from the previous format of this podcast. There will be no music, and we will not be talking about a specific person or a specific time period. Instead, we will be talking about the pervasive problems of sexual harassment and abuse in capoeira that recent news reports have once again highlighted. This is unfortunately not new news, over the years this topic has come up several times as movements like MeToo have encouraged people who were vic...

In today’s episode, I want to look at a few different related topics. When we discuss Capoeira history, particularly more modern history, we often focus on the events and people in Bahia, namely in Salvador. This is because many of the important figures responsible for the trajectory of Capoeira to today were from there: Besouro, Bimba, Pastinha, and Salvador brought Capoeira to national approval and legalization. However, the more I research, the more I find Capoeira in Rio incredibly intere...