African Brazilian culture through Capoeira
by Elexis Kirkwood
Studying abroad in Brazil exposed me to different food, education, language, and culture. Upon arrival to Brazil the difference in culture was evident. Housing, food, music, and dance were distinctly different from our norm. We were able to see the housing differences as soon as we landed in Brazil. On our first day in Sao Paulo, we visited a little café style restaurant that happened to be a little Brazil-style breakfast buffet, which exposed us to the difference in food for the first time. Exposure of the arts were all over the city of Brazil, presented in the form of murals, statues, and everyday life.
On our second day in Brazil, we were scheduled to do an activity that dove into the root of African Brazilian culture through Capoeira. We got up early on Sunday and began preparing to attend the Capoeira workshop in Sao Paulo. It was draining because, by this time, it had already felt like I’d been there a couple of days. (It was the second day) It was exciting because we were about to experience Sao Paulo public transportation for the first time. We walked to the subway station; they had a little stand right when you walked in, providing water and snacks for people to purchase. The name of the subway where we were getting on was called Paraiso. Julianna said it means paradise. The subway exceeded my expectations; it was far from paradise but was super empty, everyone was able to sit, and it also was air-conditioned, which was nice because it was super-hot outside. We took the subway to a few stops, got off, and walked to a nearby bus station. The bus station was like a normal bus station, except the buses drove 10 times faster. Everyone in Brazil is used to fast travel; if you don’t keep up with the group when getting on public transportation, there is a chance you could be left. This morning, the bus was very similar to our experience on the subway. Assuming the time of day had an influence, it was just early enough for everyone to be comfortable in their own seats.
After our brief bus ride, we arrived in the neighborhood where our Capoeira workshop was being held. We walked to a little building with the word NZINGA across the front of it. There was also a mural of a gorgeous African woman painted on the building. I didn’t really know what to expect from the workshop. The workshop took place right at the entrance and up the stairs of the building. It was small and hot but seemed to be filled with the friendliest and most loving people. The workshop had different pictures and art of African culture and capoeira placed all around. I’ve included a few pictures to show you. The art for me was mesmerizing, I loved looking at every piece. There was a massive window with a giant tree right beside it that caused me to have a minor allergy attack. Because I was attempting to figure out how to breathe, I missed some of the information about the history of Capoeira. I learned that capoeira is a form of dance that is similar to martial arts. Capoeira was brought to Brazil by the enslaved. It originally started as a means of self-defense and eventually evolved to a game of call and response. It involves the playing of instruments, the use of body and dance, as well as vocal expressions. It was a way for the enslaved to express themselves and resist their oppressors. Eventually, capoeira became the symbol of freedom and resilience. Capoeira is now practiced all over the world as a means of cultural expression as well as physical discipline.
I’ve never heard of this form of dance before, and it seemed to be really uncomfortable for me before we warmed up and actually put it all together. We started off with learning to play the instruments. They gave us an instrument called the berimbau that needed three parts to work. The instrument was extremely hard to hold, but it had a small bell-like sound once we played it correctly. After we played the instruments, we learned how to incorporate martial arts-styled dancing with the instruments. The dance required flexibility, balance, and a little skill. We did little cartwheel-like moves (which were my favorite) as well as duck and dance moves on the floor. I’m sure none of these names are accurate, but it is what they felt like. We were told to keep eye contact with our partners so that we could effectively improvise our movements. Overall, the workshop was fun, but it was a workout. We were sweaty and quite hungry after kicking, swinging, and bending. Before leaving the workshop, and while cooling down we could purchase cool merch from the workshop's non-profit. We also were able to go shopping at the little vendors across from the workshop. We took public transportation to our next activity, the experience in the afternoon was completely different from the morning transit. It was packed to the max, and they would still allow people to keep squeezing on the bus. No-one had a seat and some people were a little alienated from the group for the ride. Despite the transportation at the end, this experience was one of my favorite days in the entire trip. This was the perfect opportunity to learn about different Brazilian cultures and have some fun while doing it!
