What is Capoeira?
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian sport that combines dance and martial arts, and incorporates unique forms of music and acrobatic movement. Capoeira roots extend back over 400 years to Africa. It was a source of pride, culture, and survival skills for Africans brought to Brazil during the slave trade era. They used capoeira as a tool to fight for their freedom and to establish their own free communities.
Capoeira Regional began to take form in the 1920s when Mestre Bimba met his future student, Jose Cisnando Lima. Both believed that capoeira was losing its martial side and concluded there was a need to restructure it. Bimba created his teaching combinations and created the first Capoeira teaching methods. Advised by Cisnando, Bimba decided to call his style Luta Regional Baiana, as capoeira was still illegal at that time.
In Brazil, capoeira is the most popular sport next to soccer, and has been featured in popular movies, television shows, publications and video games. Due to it's engaging combination of so many wonderful elements, capoeira’s popularity has grown, attracting a huge international following.
What is Batizado?
A Batizado (pronounced, bah-chee-zah-do) is a performance by the masters of the art of capoeira and invited guests, as well as a graduation ceremony for students (called capoeiristas) who have demonstrated a commitment to capoeira. One of the most important aspects of the Batizado is the inspiration to other capoeiristas and participating masters (mestres) provide. Mestres impart current techniques, and unmatched passion for capoeira, and are examples of the means for self-expression that capoeira provides.
Music & Instruments
The berimbau is the heart of the music and the conductor of the game. The berimbau leads by starting a rhythm, of which there are many. Everything follows the berimbau; once it begins, the atabaque joins in, then the pandeiro. When all of the instruments have begun to play, everyone can clap along, and eventually sing. The berimbau comes in three different sizes: The large gunga, the medium medio, the very small viola.
There is only one atabaque drum in a roda and it is always at the furthest left of the batteria. It keeps the beat without being overpowering, which allows the beribau to play variations of the rhythm.
The pandeiro is a very important instrument to the music of capoeira. It plays a rhythm (generally) of six notes which helps to accentuate the connection between deep, heavy beat of the atabaque with its higher and sharper tone of the viola.
The Agogo and Reco-Reco are used mainly when there is a large roda, with a lot of people who can play instruments, to add spirit and variation to the rhythm.
