CAPOEIRA ON MY MIND Part 2: A response to Jason Lee Byrd

Hello family,

First of all, HAPPY BELATED THANKSGIVING!!!

Regardless of what this day means for you, we all must learn and practice giving thanks and love to those who are in our lives.





Have a beautiful day, every single day.

Now you guys must be wondering, "Who is Jason Lee Byrd?"

Jason Lee Byrd is a very skillfull, and dedicated Capoeira Angola teacher I admire very much, who teaches at a school called Pastinha's Garden of Capoeira Angola (PGAC for short). He's the tall guy in the dreadlocks:





A couple of months ago. he asked a simple question on a FB discussion group called CAPOEIRA TALK - jOGO dE bOCA. And, that question was this:

WHAT IS CAPOEIRA?

This blog is my attempt to answer that question.



Now I've said before that Capoeira,Is an ancient tradition brought to brazil by african slaves, but it's not a relic of the past. In fact, it's forever new.

It's a dance, but it's much more than that.

It's a deadly martial art, but it's much more than that.

It's singing and playing music, but it's much more than that.

It's a philosophy, but it's much more than that

It's Art, but it's much more than that.

In fact it's all those things, and much more.



There are many styles, or ways that Capoeira is played.



You have Capoeira Angola, the old traditional style, first popularized by Vincente Ferreira Pastinha, aka MESTRE PASTINHA...






You have Capoeira Regional, created by Manoel Dos Reis Machado, aka MESTRE BIMBA...





You have Contemporary Capoeira, the modern style, which blends both Capoeira Angola and Regional...






Those are the 3 main styles practiced by many groups all around the world today, in many different expressions.

And in addition to those styles, we have other, more modern expressions of capoeira...






Now there are those who like to argue about what style is "real or not real" capoeira, but personally, I see capoeira as a way of life, and in life, there are always going to be different opinions as to what is better, and what people prefer over another. If the different styles and ways of playing capoeira didn't exist, then capoeira wouldn't be alive.

It would be dead.

However, I truly believe that if you stay with Capoeira, and go deep into the art, you will be provided with a way of life where you can truly develop yourself physically, mentally, and even spiritually...



And with capoeira, you will be able not only to just survive, but THRIVE through life, and to accept your death when it is time.



I also said before that even though certain aspects of capoeira are emphasied more than others at certain moments, depending on when we need them, it still has all those elements in it together.

And this was really brought Home to me a couple of weeks ago.

On Saturday, November 21, my Capoeira Angola teacher was one of the lead characters in a play at the Magicropolis in Santa Monica:

Yes, that's my teacher, CHARLES WILLIAMS.

The play was called, "A NIGHT IN PALMARES", and it was about the Quilombo Dos Palmares. But first, a little history.

starting in the early 1500's, over 4 million Africans were captured and brought to brazil during the ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE.Below is a short documentary of what their lives were like:



Now those brave souls who refused to be slaves, ran away from their owners in the sugar mills and mines into the hinterlands. Some who ran away banded together, and formed free communities called QUILOMBOS.

Now around 1605, a free republic was formed made up of runaway slaves, army deserters, and Native Americans in the Northeast of brazil, in what is now the state of Pernambuco.

The republic was called, PALMARES.

Below, is a movie about this quilombo made in 1984...



Now as you can see in this film, in 1694, Palmares was suppressed, and the last King, ZUMBI, was killed.

But don't think that there are no quilombos left. They're still out there in brazil!





Uploaded on Sep 30, 2007

Trailer for documentary film "Quilombo Country," by Leonard Abrams. Film narrated by Chuck D (of famed hip-hop group Public Enemy). Available for purchase at http://www.quilombofilm.com

Category
Travel & Events
License
Standard YouTube License


Anyway, the play was AMAZING, and in it, I saw Capoeira's theatrical, musical, and yes, sometimes comedic aspects. What I mean was, there were acrobatics, and of course being a play, none of the kicks thrown were meant to hurt anyone. But this is also an aspect of Capoeira, I think. to show it's beauty.

like a RED RED ROSE.

But a red rose, as beautiful as it is, has a lot of BIG ASS THORNS! And I saw that aspect at he Capoeira Roda at the BRASIL BRASIL CULTURAL CENTER that was held after the play. The beauty was still there, and all the love and camaraderie that you'll find in true Capoeira. But the kicks thrown were for real, there was aggression, and there were players there who played HARD, and tested themselves and their fellow players.

And this is all part of Capoeira, too.

Now this roda, and the play for it, was hosted by Grupo Capoeira Batuque, headed by Mestre Amen Santo. Many Years Ago, He, along with Nilson Reis made a video series with Panther Productions, which was my first real exposure to capoeira...







And a few years later, there was the movie ONLY THE STRONG, which Mestre Amen choreographed, and starred in with Mark Dacascos, who was also at the magicropolis watching the play...



You know, for many years, I wanted to meet Mestre Amen, and tell him what a HUGE inspiration he was to me to actually find my way to this art of Capoeira. And when the oppurtunity came... I PUNKED OUT LIKE A LITTLE BITCH!!!

Oh Well, another time will come. Maybe I'll have the balls to go and talk to him then.

There were other capoeiristas I knew there, like my friend and brotherJelani Ticum Lateef, Contramestre Versatil, & Saracuru.

Around 2 times a year, Saracuru, along with another phenominal capoeirista named Muito Tempo, who was also at the roda, hosts this amazing event called THE CAPOEIRA EXCHANGE. It's an event to share and exchange capoeira for teachers and students of all schools and styles. This event is for the capoeira community to come together, share knowledge, and grow together.

This video of the last event (which I was at) should give you a taste of what this event is about.



And, they're having another event, Capoeira Exchange 5.0. It's taking place at Union Station in Downtown L.A.

Onward.



Now, let's go back to the original question of this blog...

WHAT IS CAPOEIRA?

So, how did I answer this question? Did I tell you guys what Capoeira is? Right now, I think maybe I did.

But I've only been learning this art for a year and two months. Maybe a couple of years from now, I'll be saying, "OH HELL NO!!! I left a bunch of shit out." Some of you out there may be saying it now...


But Anyway, I'm gonna close this blog with something else I said before.

This is from "CAPOEIRA: A BRAZILIAN ART FORM" by Bira Almeida aka. Mestre Acordeon:

"I wished to be a dancer and I could not be. Today I dance in capoeira. I wanted to be a fighter, so I fight in capoeira. Because I want to be an artist and express myself, have self esteem, and be a real human being, I am a capoeirista."