Easy Ways to Help an Important Mestre

  

Now’s the time to walk the walk, folks.

Here’s a message from Mestre Lua Rasta in regard to Mestre Bigodinho in Salvador.

He gives some easy suggestions that every group can take to help. If we all give, we can make a big difference!

Keep in mind that euros, dollars, and yen go far in Brazil.

Oi galera,

Mestre Bigodinho is recovering from a fracture in his leg and it is hard for him to get around, and consequently, work.

So, we are asking everyone to pitch in and help.

If everyone who understands the importance of Mestre could do a little, I believe that we can ease this difficult time for him.

The following actions would be a lot of help:

- A fund-raising event at your space (roda, workshop, film screening, party, feijoada) to support Mestre.
- Buy a Mestre Waldemar cd (a single one or an entire box!) from Teimosia who has proposed that the proceeds be donated to Mestre. Email requests to: cdmestrewaldemar (at) gmail (dot) com
- Buy the DVD "Tributo ao Mestre Bigodinho" from o Atelier de Mestre Lua Rasta. The proceeds from this will be donated to Mestre. E-mail requests to: atelierlua (at) hotmail (dot) com
- Visit Mestre because it’s no fun to feel lonely during a hard time. You can contact him by calling his daughter Joanice at: 55 71 3257 98 05 or 55 71 8854 56 80

Once again, we have reached a troubling situation in regard to capoeira mestres in Brazil. Through thousands of processes where rivers of money are spent on contracting professionals – that in many cases aren’t even capoeiristas – to “decide” the destiny of capoeira as a historic patrimony, our true patrimonies (the guardians of culture, as the intellectuals like to say) do not have support of the government in moments like this, that happen all the time.

It falls to us capoeiristas, the people who understand the path of a capoeira mestre , to resolve to, at the very least, lessen the suffering of someone who has dedicated his life to capoeira and who is now facing difficulties buying expensive prescription medicines, pay the bills and at the same time be cared for and fed with the dignity he serves.

For these and for others, we ask for your help. And don’t wait! É hora é hora.

If you can help, let us know!

Obrigado
Mestre Lua Rasta

      

São Paulo, Brazil: Batendo Tambor with Lots of Mestres

  

4th Encounter

Escola Cultural Zungu Capoeira

“Batendo Tambor”
September 16 - 19

Rua Almirante Marques Leão, 787
Bela Vista
São Paulo, Brazil

Mestre Ananias & group

Invited guests: Mestre Bigo (Francisco 45), Mestre Cobra Manas, Mestre Móa do Katendê, Mestre Russo de Caxais, Mestre Lua Rasta, MEstre Barrão, Mestre Negoativo, Mestre Ray

For more information, call:
(11) 23081306
(11) 81788486 (Cacá)
(11) 84165234 (Cabeleira)
   

Bahia, Brazil: 2010 Acanne Event

  

PARA CONTAR CERTO, EM 2010...

This is the second edition of a great event, that integrates capoeiristas from different parts of the world to live and share together for 15 days, participating in workshops, lectures, and visits, to discover the essence of Capoeira Angola of Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

This year, we will also visit the city of Santo Amaro, land of the great capoeirista, Besouro Mangangá.

This is another opportunity for you to experience Capoeira Angola in Salvador, to go to rodas of the great Mestres, to visit local historic sites relevant to capoeira, and to appreciate the beauty of the city, with a group of people of “alto astral” quality.

** Event dates have been changed to July 18 - August 2.

You can check out their website for more information, including the schedule of events (in Portuguese).

Or contact the event organizers:
mestrerene (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) br
acannezion (at) hotmail (dot) com
africanamente.poa (at) hotmail (dot) com
  

Ilha de Itaparica, Brasil: Angoleiros da Mar Event in January

           
A note from Angoleiros do Mar:

Yeahhhhhh capoeiristas de todo mundo ..

Capoeiragem na Ilha de Itaparica
Angoleiros do Mar

January 15 – 17, 2009
Barra Grande, Ilha de Itaparica

Costs:
R$80,00 - 3 days
R$60,00 - 2 days
R$40,00 - 1 day

Camping (Saturday & Sunday)

Invited Guests:
Mestres:
Marcelo Angola (Angoleiros do Mar)
Lua Rasta (Tribo da Lua)
Claudio (Angoleiros do Sertão)
Ivan (Santo Amaro)
Torito (Salvador)
Barteló (Angoleiros da Serra)

Contra-mestres:
Luciano (Malta da Serra)

Professores:
Sapoti (Bando Tupinambá)
Ricardo (Zimba)
V.O. (ACANNE)
Calça Furada e Oriquerê (Angoleiros do Sertão)
Adilson (Angoleiros da Serra)

Professores from the Angoleiros do Mar family:
Fubuia (França)
Mandela (Japão)
Guaxini
Gigante
Daniel Cachaça (Minas Gerais)
JP
Peixe frito
Macarrão
Tarzan
Grilo (Espanha)


And more invited guests.

Guaxini's website
Angoleiros do Mar website
           

Salvador & Recôncavo da Bahia: 3rd Capoeira Encounter

This event looks amazing. You can't miss it if you are in the area!

The 3rd Capoeira Encounter of the Recôncavo will honor Mestre Felipe de Santo Amaro de Purifcação, a significant mestre from the old guard, as well as an artisan and capoeira singer.

This is a traveling event that aims to show and give value to the existing movement between urban capoeira and the rural capoeira of the Bahian Recôncavo.

This event will take place in Salvador, Santo Amaro and Santiago do Iguape, a small village of fisherman and farming quiombolas from the 27th to the 29th of November, 2009.

Schedule of Events

11/27, Salvador
10 – Opening and reception with the children capoeiristas of Santo Amaro, students of Mestre Ivan (ACANA), at the Faculdade de Educação/UFBA
10h30 – Exhibition and discussion about the film “A CAPOEIRA DE UM MESTRE E O SEU BANDO ANUNCIADOR” in the Sala de Cinema da UFBA/Faced.
14h – Percussion Workshop with Mestre Lua / Praça do Pelourinho
16h – Educational activity for the kiddies (painting in honor of M Felipe)
18h - BANDO ANUNCIADOR parade with the children capoeiristas from Santo Amaro
20h - Roda de Capoeira at the Terreiro de Jesus
22h – Table of fruits and mingling following the roda

11/28, Santo Amaro
8 am – Leave for Santo Amaro
11 am – Arrival at the Praça da Matriz with a welcome roda
2:30 pm – Capoeira Angola Workshops with M Ivan and Maculelê Workshop with com Erisivaldo at the Barracão of M Ivan
4 pm – Snack and education activity for children (games, songs and painting)
5 pm – Discussion at the Barracão, with M Felipe and the old capoeira mestres of the Recôncavo + Roda
8:30 pm – Film: “Tributo a Mestre Bigodinho” and “Umbigada” at the Praça da Matriz

11/29 - Santiago do Iguape
9 am – Collective breakfast at the Casa do Samba
9:40 am – Leave for Santiago do Iguape
10:30 am – Arrival, capoeira roda, and hang time with the old mestres of the community
1 pm – Lunch in Santiago do Iguape
2 pm – Berimbau and Song Workshop with M Felipe
4 pm – Return to Santo Amaro
5 pm – Closing roda at the Casa do Samba
6:30 pm – Return to Salvador.

Registration: R$130
Includes food, transportation, housing, workshops and a t-shirt.

Literary Edition: The Saddest Day of My Life

This piece was written in honor of Mestre Lua Rasta by his student Leiteiro:

The Saddest Day of My Life

The other day I was reading the story of Grande/Pequeno Mestre Pastinha when I came across the phrase: The Secret of Capoeira Dies With Me!

I could not believe it, the size of one’s ego is not predicated on their title of Grande Mestre! Uncomfortable with this, I searched for what this secret might be. And so, days, months, years passed until da-da-da: I discovered the secret of capoeira!
Unbelievably, it was right in front of me, beside me, behind me, and I did not notice it, immense, crystallized; perhaps it was there all these years, covered by a magician’s small handkerchief that was lifted, by some divine grace. What happiness, what joy, I understood everything, I understood the phrase of the old mestre and his fear at the blindness of his students to see what he showed them every day.

The secret of capoeira!

I ran to my friend’s house to announce the good news: Araúana, you are not going to believe it, but I discovered the secret of capoeira!

What? Ha hahahahhahaha.

I’m telling you, man, its serious.

Whoa, Leiteiro, you want to make me die laughing? Hahhahahaha.

You don’t believe in me anymore, man?

Tell me, then, what the secret is.

This is what I was waiting for, the moment to share my glory.

Ah, the secret, the secret is… the secret? (omg, help me) well, like I was saying, the secret…

Yes, yes, the secret hahahahahaha.

There was no doubt that I had forgotten the secret of capoeira. I left with my head hanging down, my ears red with embarrassment, my heart boiling with powerless hate for that laugh that echoed through my mind. With each step taken, each corner rounded, those “ha ha ha”s echoed in my head and crept down my spine, weakening my legs, slowing my steps, lengthening the distance between our houses. I ran like I had never run before and dived into bed. Nothing like time to heal the wounds.

But cornstarch one day becomes mingau, and suddenly, like a ray of light shining again:

The secret of capoeira!

Moments of euphoria were followed by moments of reflection, I could not act like a little troublemaker who got a new toy again, the situation required self-control, I tried to repeat to myself a few times the secret until I was sure that I was not going to forget it and I went to Araúana’s house, not like a fool with a bejeweled ring, but more like a professor that has come to teach a student who knows it all that he really knows nothing!

I knocked, the door opened, and our eyes met.

What brings you here, Leiteiro?

You are not going to believe me, but I came because I have nothing to do, I told him in a weary voice. It was confirmed, there were no longer any doubts:

The secret of capoeira is not to be told, but to be seen in capoeira rodas, to be heard in the sounds of the instruments and the songs, and it was this that the old Mestre Pastinha was doing in his games and songs.

What I do playing around, you can’t even do with anger and your students don’t notice or understand.

I couldn’t hide my tears as I said: Araúna, today is the saddest day of my life!

Now I know with certainty: The secret of capoeira dies with me! Believe if you will, my dear reader, I discovered the secret of capoeira but if you are like Saint Thomas I'll give you a hint: Capoeira is that which does not appear and appears to be that which it is not.

Speaking of this, capoeira would be a small net whose knots are its secrets. When one knot tears (read: it is forgotten or undone) the new mestres must rush to fix it.

Let us fix it for the old mestres, connoisseurs of the art form, the pasting will be invisible, preserving the knowledge in the work! Yet despite our egoism, rush, and imperfection, we continue to fill our net and capoeira, will soon become worthless and we will have to throw it out. On this day, the whole nation, the world and even god will cry, because he separated the earth and the sea it was in that moment that capoeira came forth.

In honor of the old mestres whoe gave us freely that which we sell at any price.

Thanks to my professor Lua Rasta. Many thanks for teaching me to like and love capoeira and for presenting it in the streets, squares, schools, and theaters without the current preoccupation with teaching capoeira only as a class to make mestres.

Text by Renato Palmas Azevedo, o Leiteiro!

Do you have something to share? Send it to: ficadcarchives (at) gmail (dot) com

Mestre João Pequeno Honored with Doctoral Degree

Here are some pictures from the ceremony honoring Mestre João Pequeno with an honorary doctoral degree from the Federal University of Bahia last Wednesday. The event was very nice. Mestre João Pequeno entered the room to great applause and the flashes of many, many cameras.

The ceremony opened with a presentation of a berimbau orchestra, followed by speeches, various theatrical presentations, a children’s roda, and the presentation of the degree. A highlight was the poetic telling of Mestre João Pequeno's life story by some of his women students. Besides the UFBa administrators, professors, and many capoeiristas, Mestres Moraes, Poloca, Barba Branca, and Lua Rasta were in attendance. It was a great night.

Once again, congratulations Mestre João Pequeno on this well-deserved honor.

Mestre Lua Rasta & the old mestres

Here is a bit of an interview done by the magazine Nossas Referências that was put out by the Quiolmbo Cecília organization. In the article, M Lua Rasta talks about his childhood, his first encounter with capoeira, and his Friday night rodas at the Terreiro de Jesus, where sometimes the ghosts of the old mestres come out to join in the fun.

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…

Thanks to ShaynaM for the translation. You can read her entire translation (the original was done in Portuguese) at her website.

The whole thing is available for your further enlightment in our archives.

**If you have an interview with your mestre or teacher that you would like to see posted, please email it to us. We can do the translation English <-> Portuguese.