M Cobra Mansa in the roda at the old FICA-DC space in the Takoma Park neighborhood. 
Dale, Sheryll, Frauke (visiting from Germany), Iuna (visiting from Japan), Ama, Fabio, and a friend making caxixis. 
Folks from Atlanta posing outside the space. 
The poet herself (in blue) chilling with friends at the Grand Opening of the space.
4th and ButternutThis poem, by the extraordinary mandingueira and singer Charisse Williams, was published in the first issue of FICA's literary magazine, Caxixi. It was written when FICA-DC moved into its first permanent space, at 4th and Butternut Streets in the Takoma Park neighborhood. She really captures well the energy of people and shops that inhabited that small square of the earth.
by Charisse Williams
I showed up at 6:30 to work on the new space
and no one was there.
I always seem to end up at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Passed Fabio at the Metro as he was leaving
after waiting for 40 minutes.
As I sat waiting, I watched the people walk by
in shades of brown
I listened to the hum, rattle, screeches
of the buses as they passed and the
click clack click clack click clack
of the trains over the tracks
and the weeoo weeoo of the car alarms
and the Go-Go pumping from Jeep stereos.
I saw brothas exchange ‘what’s up, man?’
and handshakes in the park across the street
In fact, I can barely write this poem
for all the ‘how you doin’ today’s
from men who try real hard
to look me in the eye when they greet me
even though my skirt is way too short
for me to be sittin’ on this here stoop.
Sistas in suits
brothas in bowties
people pacing back and forth on cell phones
Ladies in Lexuses
winos with run over shoes
the stale stench of alcohol and summer funk.
I feel the rhythm and pulse
of this urban landscape with country warmth
in this community rich with culture
rife with contradiction.
I feel calm…
As I get up to leave I smile
as I look back
knowing
that the space will be there
tomorrow
and the next day
and the next.
Yeah…
FICA will be right at home here.
Here is some information on an upcoming event with Mestre Poloca in Berlin. Besides movement and music classes, it looks like the storytelling workshops relate to an earlier post we did celebrating the "Malungos" event in Salvador in which we presented an article about M Poloca's work as an arte-educador. I hope we can do something similar in the U.S. while M Poloca is here. It is such a unique and creative way to get children interested in Capoeira Angola, especially for children outside of Brazil where there is little to no knowledge of Capoeira. Enjoy!Mestre Poloca of Grupo Nzinga de Capoeira Angola de Salvador is coming to Berlin!!!A big thanks to Lars for the translation German->English.
We're taking this opportunity to cordially invite all Capoeiristas from Berlin and everybody else interested.
When: November 23 - 25, 2007
Where: Academia Jangada for Capoeira Angola and Brazilian Dance - Torstraße
109, 10119 Berlin & A Livraria, Torstraße 159, 10115 Berlin for the presentation and discussion
Costs: Below, with payment information
Program
Thursday 11/22
5:00 pm - 7 pm: Story Workshop "When Queen Nzinga was a Child" with M. Poloca @ A Livraria
Friday 11/23
4:15 pm – 5:00 pm: Arrival, Registration, Change of Clothes
5:00 pm - 6:50 pm: Capoeira Angola Practice with M. Poloca
6:50 pm - 7:30 pm: Practice Roda
8:15 pm: Presentation and Discussion "The Process of Reaffirmation of Capoeira Angola in Bahia and around the World since the 1980s" @ A Livraria
Brazilian Snacks (Coxinhas) & Drinks!!!!
Saturday 11/24
9:15 am – 10:00 am: Arrival, Registration, Change of Clothes
10:00 am – 11.50 am: Capoeira Angola Training with M. Poloca
12.00 am – 1:50 pm: Contemporary Dance meets Capoeira with Ricardo de Paula
2:00 pm – 2:50 pm: Frevo e Maracatú with Carlos
3:00 pm – 4:50 pm: Capoeira Angola Training with M. Poloca
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm: Story Workshop "When Vincente Pastinha was still a Child" with M. Poloca
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Music with M. Rosalvo
7:00 pm: Roda
Sunday 11/25
10:00 am - 11:50 am: Musica with M. Poloca
Contemporary Dance meets Capoeira with Ricardo de Paula
12.00 noon - 1:50 pm: Capoeira Angola Training with M. Poloca
2:00 pm - 14:50 pm: Frevo e Maracatú with Carlos
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Roda
5:00 pm: Brazilian Bean Stew Feijoada!!!!
Costs:
Before 11/16
Friday - Sunday: 65.00 €
Saturday - Sunday: 55.00 €
After 11/16
Friday - Sunday: 75.00 €
Saturday - Sunday: 65.00 €
One Day Only: 35.00 € / 40.00 €
Participation for Children at the Story Workshops: 3.50 €
Electronic Wire:
Capoeira Angola e. V.
Postbank Berlin
BLZ 100 100 10 [routing n#]
Kto-Nr. 67 22 33 107 [account #]
Please indicate purpose of payment: "Workshop M. Poloca"
Details:
Don't forget your instruments, clothes, and clean shoes to wear inside.
If you're from outside Berlin and register by 11/16 we can arrange a
place for you to sleep. Don't forget your sleeping bag and foam sleeping pad/air mattress.
Reception of your payment counts as registration. Early registration is recommended, because there is a limited number of spots for participants.
We'll be selling tickets for the feijoada on Sunday for 3.50 €.
Program is subject to change. Please check the following websites for updates and more detailed information.
Grupo Vadiação
Grupo Filhos de Angola
Grupo N'Zinga
Or, contact:
CM Susy, Grupo Vadiação, T 4495738 or info(at)jangada(dot)com
Tina, Grupo Nzinga, T 691 34 18 or tina.schenck(at)gmx(dot)de
Trenél Andrea, Grupo Filhos de Angola, T 78891720 or andreafanger(at)gmx(dot)de
MESTRE POLOCA (Grupo Nzinga de Capoeira Angola de Salvador) kommt nach BERLIN!!!
Wir nutzen das als Anlass, freundschaftlich alle Capoeiristas aus Berlin und alle Interessierten zusammen zu bringen.
Wo und Wann
23. – 25. November 2007
Academia Jangada für Capoeira Angola und bras. Tanz, Torstr. 109, 10119 Berlin
A Livraria, Torstr. 159, 10115 Berlin für den Vortrag mit Diskussionsrunde
Programm
Do 22.11.
17.00- 19.00 Geschichten-Werkstatt "Als die Königin Nzinga ein Kind war" mit M. Poloca
In "A Livraria".
Fr 23.11.
16.15 – 17.00 Ankommen, Anmelden, Umziehen
17.00 – 18.50 Capoeira Angola Training mit M. Poloca
18.50 - 19.30 Trainings-Roda
20.15 Vortrag mit Diskussionsrunde "Der Prozess der Reaffirmation der Capoeira Angola in Bahia und in der Welt ab den Achtziger Jahren".
In "A Livraria".
Brasilianische Snacks (Coxinhas) und Getränke genau dort!!!!
Sa 24.11.
09.15 – 10.00 Ankommen, Anmelden, Umziehen
10.00 – 11.50 Capoeira Angola Training mit M. Poloca
12.00 – 13.50 Contemporary Dance meets Capoeira mit Ricardo de Paula
14.00 – 14.50 Frevo e Maracatú mit Carlos
15.00 – 16.50 Capoeira Angola Training mit M. Poloca
17.00 – 18.30 Geschichten-Werkstatt "Als Vicente Pastinha noch Kind war" mit M. Poloca
18.00 - 19.00 Musik mit M. Rosalvo
19.00 hs Roda
So 25.11.
10.00 - 11.50 hs Musik mit M. Poloca
Contemporary Dance meets Capoeira mit Ricardo de Paula
12.00 - 13.50 hs Capoeira Angola Training mit M. Poloca
14.00 - 14.50 hs Frevo e Maracatú mit Carlos
15.00 - 17.00 hs Roda
17.00 hs Brasilianisches Bohnengericht Feijoada!!!!
Preise
Bezahlung bis 16.11.
Fr – So: 65,- €
Sa – So: 55,- €
Ein Tag nur: 35,- €
Bezahlung nach 16.11.
Fr – So: 75,- €
Sa – So: 65,- €
Ein Tag nur: 40,- €
Banküberweisung
Capoeira Angola e. V.
Postbank Berlin
BLZ 100 100 10
Kto-Nr. 67 22 33 107
Verwendungszweck Workshop M. Poloca
Details
Vergiß nicht deine Instrumente, Sportsachen und Hallenturnschuhe, gelle?
Für Leute von außerhalb Berlins:
Wenn du dich bis zum 16.11 einschreibst, wird für dich bei Bedarf ein Schlafplatz organisiert. Denk bitte an Schlafsack und Isomatte.
Einschreibung gilt ab Geldeingang auf das Konto. Vorzeitige Anmeldung wird empfohlen, wegen begrenzterTeilnehmerplätze.
Feijoada am Sonntag: Bon-Verkauf am Samstag (3,50 €)
Programmänderungen sind nicht ausgeschlossen. Zur Orientierung, Aktualisierung und detaillierten Information über Akteure und Angebote:
www.jangada.com
www.filhosdeangola.de
www.nzinga.org.br
Kinder
Teilnahme an der Geschichten-Werkstatt 3,50 €
Organisation
CM Susy, Grupo Vadiação, T 4495738 info(at)jangada.com
Tina, Grupo Nzinga, T 691 34 18 tina.schenck(at)gmx.de
Trenél Andrea, Grupo Filhos de Angola, T 78891720 andreafanger(at)gmx.de
Alguém me disse
Que pareço Ganga Zumbi
Óia lá, foi o Rei lá dos Palmares
E outros já me disseram
Que na outra encarnação
Eu era rico, muito rico
Eu tinha muita fazenda
E grande canavial
E eu era bom patrão
Só mulher eu tinha nove (bis)
Com idades variadas
E hoje, o que eu tenho?
Nem sequer tenho casa pra morar
Nem dinheiro pra gastar
Mas tenho a Graça Divina
Que é minha companheira
Óia, eu tenho a capoeira
E essa grande amizade
Dentro do meu coração, camará...
Iê! Viva Leopoldina!
Eu vou lê o B-A-BA
O B-A-BA do berimbau
A cabaça e o caxixi
E um pedaço de pau
A moeda e o arame, colega velho
Está aí um berimbau
Berimbau é um instrumento
Tocado de uma corda só
Pra tocá São Bento Grande
Toca angola em tom maior
Agora acabei de crê, colega velho
Berimbau é o maior, camará
The film club Cinemafro in partnership with the Fundação Internacional de Capoeira Angola (FICA) will present and discuss the film A Negação do Brasil by Joel Zito Araújo. This documentary film analyzes the presence of black actors on Brazilian television.
Date: October 19, at 7:00 pm
Place: Av. Carlos Gomes, Ed. Esther Moura Franco, nº 111, 5th floor – Centro
Tel: 71 3321-7365
Free admission
The film club Cinemafro in partnership with the Fundação Internacional de Capoeira Angola (FICA), presents L'envol d'un Masque?, by Phillippe Cassard, produced in Burkina Faso. The film deals with the relationship between tradition and modernity through the fable of an African mask. Following the exhibition, there will be a discussion with the anthropologist Maria Paula Aldinofi.
Date: October 21, at 7:00 pm
Place: Av. Carlos Gomes, Ed. Esther Moura Franco, nº 111, 5th floor – Centro
Tel: 71 3321-7365
Free admission
Nossas Referências: How was living with the old mestres, something that is already distant from the young generations?
M Lua Rasta: Man, life in those days, it was the old mestres who maintained this resistance, a resistance that was at times even naïve. But they were our role models. Waldemar, Mestre Canjiquinha, Mestre Bimba, Mestre Bobó, these guys were our leaders, they were the guys that, damn, idolizing has nothing to do with it, but we believed in them!!! Canjiquinha was a hero for me. He was a capoeirista who participated in a ton of films. You see a film like Barravento or O Pagador de Promessas, and the whole theatrical part, the performances , the culture, the production crew left it all in his hands; he was the one who gave the flavor of the popular culture to the film… Mestre Caiçara was another guy who was really good, in the era when Bahia had a lot of mysticism. Even this has been lost…Mestre Caiçara of Oxossi, damn, the guy was of Oxossi, which at the time was something strong, understand? Oxossi, the orixá of the forests. It was great to live with Mestre Caiçara in day-to-day life and see his way of being. Mestre Caiçara was a totally radical guy, totally rebelling against society, the system, the police system. All this was very important for people today who are 45 and 60 years old- resistance, you know? Real political resistance! Today a lot of people say, “Ah, but the old mestres played by the system’s rules.” No, but it was different, today it’s we who play by the rules of the system,in that era it was the system who played by their rules…
OctoberLet us know if your event is missing! Email: ficadcarchives(at)gmail(dot)com
5 – 8, Los Angeles: Capoeira Angola Center Event “Let the Circle be Unbroken”
5 – 7, Helsinki: M Valmir Workshops
5 – 7, Philadelphia: M Cobra Mansa Workshops
12 - 14, Washington, DC: M Cobra Mansa Workshops
12 – 14, Atlanta: T Baba Workshops
19 – 21, New York City: M Jurandir Workshops
November
8 – 11, Chicago: Pastinha/ Zumbi Weekend
13, Anniversary of M Pastinha’s death
20, Brazil: Zumbi/ Black Consciousness Day
December
30, Salvador: Roda in Honor of M João Pequeno
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