Singing for Survival: Capoeira History

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In today's episode, I had the privilege to sit down and chat with Mestre Cobra Mansa, one of important elders in modern Capoeira Angola. Here we discuss his life, his personal philosophy for Capoeira, and the fascinating historical research he has done in Africa on Capoeira origins. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Link to Dance of the Serpent: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G2CC1W9N?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback 

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I sat down with Mestre Bengala to talk about the early days of Capoeira in the US, and his experience seeing the art and community evolve over the last few decades. 

To learn more about Mestre Bengala's early life, check out this Reflections on Capoeira: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8GspctIa5U

*Minor corrections from Mestre Bengala:
- The first Capoeira encounter took place in 1992
- In Mestre Bengala's first trip to Brazil, he celebrated New Year's in Porto Seguro

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In this episode, we talk about the African roots of Capoeira. This is something we have touched upon in several episodes, but I wanted to take some time and talk about what we really mean when we say that. I think the best place to find clues is in other places in the African diaspora and here we will spend some time exploring those arts, and what their commonalities can teach us about their origins!

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In this episode, we take a much broader look at Capoeira history from the beginnings of the Transatlantic Slave Trade up until the modern era. This will hopefully give you a better sense of how the previous episodes fit within the broader context of the longer history!

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In this episode, I dig into the topic of syncretism: what is it, how does it manifest in the Americas, and why do we as Capoeiristas care about it? I'll talk about a few brief examples in both the United Status and in Central America before looking at the most relevant example to Capoeiristas: Candomble.

If you have any questions or think I got anything wrong, don't hesitate to reach out at [email protected]

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In this episode, I want to delve into a rebellion in the 1800s in Salvador Bahia that I haven't heard discussed very much at all in Capoeira circles I've been a part of. Looking into this rebellion, we can learn a lot about some of the ethnic and demographic changes that occurred throughout the slavery era of Brasil, and how that impacted various movements that were developing and acting in this time. We can also trace a through line between this rebellion and another important one that preceded it, namely the Haitian Revolution. I think it serves as an excellent jumping off point to both learn about the story of that revolution and also see how it ties to and influences rebellion in other parts of Latin America. All of this started from a relatively simple question I had one day: Who were the Malês?

Music included in this episode is Haitian folk music

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Today’s episode is a departure from the standard format of this podcast to revisit a topic we explored back in 2021, which is sexual abuse in capoeira. This remains an ongoing issue, and with this episode, where I am joined by Natasha Távora Baker (Pequena) of the Natasha Explains It All podcast, we hope to get listeners up to speed on what’s been happening since the last episode and what we as a capoeira community can do about it.

Trigger warning: this episode includes discussion of sexual violence and abuse, including of minors. 

We reference various resources and campaigns during this episode and they are:

CapoeirAcolher, on Instagram @capoeiracolher: supporting survivors of sexual abuse in capoeira and doing prevention work in Brazil 

Please support the GoFundMe campaign to get CapoeirAcolher formally off the ground and registered as a non-profit.

https://gofund.me/62e2b467

Participate in the #RaulPresente (on Instagram @raulpresente) campaign to bring justice to capoeirista Raul, who was abused by his capoeira instructor: Record video of yourself in support of victims of sexual abuse within capoeira and end by saying “Raul presente” (Raul present) to raise awareness and put pressure on the judiciary to move Raul’s case forward

Mestra Colibri of Capoeira Brasil Chicago

School’s website: https://colibricb.com/

School’s code of conduct: https://colibricb.com/code-of-conduct/

Instagram: @chicagocapoeiracenter @katiacolibri

Youtube: @katiacolibri

Participate in Mestra Colibri’s global survey on Identifying Barriers to Women in Capoeira, in English (for the US), in English (for non-US), Portuguese, Spanish, German, and French

Marias Felipas, a collective doing work to promote gender equity in capoeira, on Instagram @mariasfelipas 

The Ahimsa Collective, https://www.ahimsacollective.net/, is one organization that can help your group navigate conflict and harm repair

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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

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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 oblique references to something. For those who have asked the question of “what is this even about” in the past, you were probably told that it had to do with a War with Paraguay that Capoeiristas fought in. But what do we really know about this war with Paraguay, why is it so relevant, and why has this song of all others become so well known? Those are the questions that I want to dig into in this episode. 

The research for this episode took me far deeper into South American history than I expected, and there were some really surprising turns and revelations along the way, so I hope you enjoy as we take a dive into Paranaue and the War of the Triple Alliance.

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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 instrument originate from? When and how did it get to Brazil? Has it always been in Capoeira? If not, when and why did it make its way in? In this episode we are going to dig into some of these questions!