Capoeira in WInter 2014

Happy 2014!

Movement Class: Mondays, 5:30 to 7:30 at WWU, in the Multipurpose Room of the Viking Union, starting on January 13th Music Class: Sundays on the ground floor of Bond Hall, starting on January 12th.

UPDATE: We were planning to have a beginners series on  Thursday evenings. Unfortunately, WWU denied our request for space at the last minute. Send us an email if you are still interested - we always welcome people of all levels at our practices!

Mark your calendars! January 18th we will participate in the annual Martin Luther King conference

Mestre Silvinho and others from Seattle will be joining us for a full day of activities:

WHATCOM COMMUNITY COLLEGE'S SYRE CENTER 10am: opening address to MLK Conference by Jay Julius of the Lummi tribe
10:30 to 11:30: music class with Mestre Silvinho
11:45 to 12:30 (or so): roda at the MLK conference

Break for Lunch

PRESENCE STUDIO (1412 Cornwall Avenue)
1:30 to 3:30: Capoeira workshop with Mestre Silvinho
4 to 5:30: Beginners' class / children's class

(Possibly) WHATCOM PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER

6:30pm: roda

All the events on January 18th will also be used to raise funds to help Treinel Daniel (from FICA-Oakland) pay for his recent medical expenses. We are suggesting a $10 donation for each class, or $25 to participate in the full days' activities.

Winter Pause (2013 edition)

SUNDAY, December 15th, there will be an end of the year celebration/roda/potluck in Seattle at the FICA studio, 803 King Street (a few blocks from the Amtrak Station), starting at 3pm and going until the evening lasts.
To mark the roda as "special", Mestre Silvinho has requested that people wear white pants and a white t-shirt to the roda. Special rodas in white (roda de branco) are often held for celebratory purposes; for example, here: 

A women's Bateria

Canjica and Robert playing the jogo de angola

An intergenerational community practice

Official capoeira classes in Bellingham will be on hiatus until Sunday, January 12th. On that date we will resume music classes. Because of the cold, we will be meeting on the ground floor of Bond Hall at WWU, at 11am. Regular movement classes will resume on Monday, January 13th in the Multipurpose Room of the Viking Union.

Also, mark your calendars because on Saturday January 18th we were invited to perform at the annual Martin Luther King Conference at lunch time - around 11:30pm.Mestre Silvinho will be joining us, and possibly we will have the special participation of Treinel Huu from FICA - Chicago.
We will probably schedule Other classes for that day to take advantage of Huu's presence.UPDATE (Dec 27th): Huu will not be joining us.

Treinel is a title given by the Mestres to recognize someone who they trust to teach classes independently, because they have learned a sufficient amount about the history, movements, music, and more broadly the culture of capoeira.
Huu is one of a small but growing number of women who has been recognized as a Treinel, after many years of training and studying under our Mestres. She is currently affiliated with FICA- Chicago.


Be safe, and go see 12 years a slave while you can.

The roda of life

Below is the translation of another text i found on the website of grupo Nzinga:

"Grande Roda" (large/great circle)

The 'Grande Roda', as angoleiros call it, is the society in which we live, with all of its conflicts and contradictions.
The same principles that we reflect on and practice in the "Pequena Roda" (the 'little' roda of capoeira) apply to the Grande Roda. These principles include, primarily, a collective struggle against oppression, with its base in solidarity and resilience/resistance. The history of Capoeira is a portrait of this struggle, from its origins in the plantations, mines, and docks built with the labor of men and women from Africa, to the stigmas and sterotypes that it confronts today as a symbol of the cultural inheritance of people of African descent.
The trahjectory of struggle that we received from our ancestors, from Queen Nzinga to Mestre Pastinha, from the kilombos to the legacy of black culture, must be accepted and deepened. Capoeira Angola is militant - and as such it must never cease to oppose social injustice, and to move towards social transformation through reflection, protest and education.

The roots of capoeira angola

Mestre Cobra Mansa has been working on a documentary on the african roots of capoeira.

The video below is for the appeal for funding that they did some time ago - and it contains some amazing footage on its own, including Mestre Cobrinha playing some intense games against Mestre Moraes.

A drumming event in September!

Mark your calendars!

September 20, 21 & 22, 2013   Workshop
West African Drumming with Sayon Camara
Bellingham WA  
Register in Advance! Call 603-254-4493. Let us know if you need a djembe.
Workshop Schedule
Friday 9/20, 1 class:  6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Saturday 9/21, 2 classes:  12noon – 2:30 pm AND 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Sunday 9/22, 1 class:  1:00 – 3:30 pm
Location
Presence Studio • 1412 Cornwall Ave • Bellingham WA • 2nd floor above Bellingham Bar & Grill
Cost
Get the full Sayon Camara experience: $150 • Save $30!
Friday and Saturday only OR Saturday and Sunday only: $130  Save $20!
Individual Classes: $45

A little bit of history, a little bit of Italy

In the picture, Mestre Joao Grande on Gunga (in the middle), Mestre Moraes on medio (on the left), Treinel Daniel (FICA-Oakland) on viola (on the right) and Matteo (FICA-Bellingham) on pandeiro.

Below is a picture from a roda in Grosseto, Italy, hosted by prof. Victor (from the group Meninos de Angola, wearing a white t-shirt and dreads, on the gunga) with people from various capoeira angola groups (including FICA-Pisa, Angola Dobrada, and Sao Bento Pequeno) participating.

Parabens! (Good wishes/congratulations!)

At the 19th annual FICA Conference (which was held in Belo Horizonte, Brasil in August of 2013), several people were recognized for their work in Capoeira Angola. Rogerio Teber (FICA-Mexico), was recognized as a Mestre of Capoeira Angola - this joining the ranks of the other Mestres of the International Capoeira Angola Foundation: Cobra Mansa, Jurandir, Valmir and our own Mestre Silvinho. Alder Oliva (FICA-Rio de Janeiro), Gunter Andrade (FICA-Manaus), Leninho Sá (FICA-Goias), Kamal (FICA Philly), Skher Brown (FICA-Baltimore) and Kojo X Johnson (FICA-DC) all were recognized with the title of Contra-Mestre. Finally, Yuta Kazama (FICA-Japan), Eva Agbada (FICA-Philly), Medusa Angola (FICA-Italia), Joe (FICA-Hawaii), Chico Fedora (FICA-Brasilia), Huu (FICA-Chicago), Toca (FICA-London), Javier (FICA-Mexico), Puck (FICA-New York) and Gabriel (FICA-Belo Horizonte) became graduated students and received the title of Treinel!

winding down the school year

What better way to celebrate the end of the festival, and the winding down of the school year, than with a roda in the sun after practice?

Many thanks, again, to Ethan for all his work this year! and it was great to have Devin back for a couple of days.

A great festival

Many thanks to Ethan for all the hard work!
And thanks to Dora Oliveira, Manimou Camara, Mestre Silvinho, and especially Contra Mestre Andrea!

A women's Bateria

Contra-Mestre Andrea and Leika about to start playing

Oxani doing a ponte.

A group photo after the West African Dance class led by Maninou Camara

a bit of history and perspective

The article below was written by Mestra Paulinha, of Grupo Nzinga. I found it in the archives of the blog hosted by FICA DC.

In the beginning of the 1980s, the creation of the Grupo de Capoeira Angola Pelourinho (GCAP) in Rio de Janeiro and later in Bahia marked a significant change in the situation. Founded by Mestre Pedro Moraes Trinidade (Mestre Moraes), GCAP implemented a series of actions promoting the re-valorization of Capoeira Angola and the recognition of the importance of old and famous mestres, such as Mestre Pastinha himself. With an ideology that affirmed capoeira’s African roots and denounced the injustices suffered by so many capoeiristas and Afro-descendents, this group was the precursor of a movement that became wide and diverse.

Through the realization of events in homage to Mestre Pastinha, GCAP managed to reunite old practitioners of Capoeira Angola and attract new admirers and people interested in learning the traditional game. The format of these events was innovative because it created bridges between the practitioners of Capoeira Angola and other segments of society such as: religious leaders, especially those linked to the Candomblés of Angola; anti-racist organizations of the “black movement”; organizations involved with other forms of black culture; intellectuals and scholars; and governmental organizations, especially in the cultural area. In some years, these events gained larger proportions, assuming a national and international character, and began to be held by other nascent groups of Capoeira Angola, mainly during the 1990s. Such events were established as an important part of a regular calendar activities that helped to construct the new community of “angoleiros”.

One important aspect of the ideology and actions implemented by the Capoeira Angola groups created in this period involves the denunciation of racism in Brazil. The events promoted in memory of Mestre Pastinha, carried out on the date of his death (November 13th), soon became part of the agenda of commemorations and reflections of the National Day of Black Consciousness (November 20th). More than a coincidence of dates, this approximation reveals a process of growing politicization in the universe of Capoeira Angola, synchronized with the general trend in the black cultural scene in Bahia...

... This community became very heterogeneous – including people of various ethnic and racial origins, social classes, nationalities, genders, ages, and sexual orientations- and this has been the backdrop for the construction of the angoleiro’s identity. Therefore, affirming oneself as an “angoleiro(a)” today implies dealing with diversity, rejecting any ideal of purity and homogeneity.

Afro-Brasilian Festival - June 2nd!

Thank you Canjica!

We had a great visit with Treinel Canjica from FICA- Seattle.
As part of his visit, we played at the Bellingham Farmers' Market.

An article in the Western Front

WWU's student newspaper has written another feature about our work. you can read it here.

Spring Quarter

Our regular practices will be held on Mondays from 5:30 to 7:30 in the MultiPurpose Room of the Viking Union: bring shoes and pants you feel comfortable moving in, and come prepared to spend at least some time being upside down!

All experience levels are always welcome!

We are also meeting on Saturdays (including tomorrow) specifically to focus on learning the music and songs associated with capoeira. Given the forecast of rain for tomorrow, we will meet at the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, at the north end of downtown: the address is 1220 Bay Street, close to the intersection of Bay and Holly Street. we will have (some) instruments to provide.

A journalist from the Western Front came to see our Saturday music practices, and took some pictures. Here's one:

A few dates to look out for: 

-we will be having a roda at the African - Caribbean culture night on Saturday April 27th 

- On Sunday May 5th, Community to Community is sponsoring a Farmworker march that will end at Maritime Heritage Park. Participate, and perhaps join in a roda at the march's end!

- We will be having a performance/roda at the WWU event Cabaret on May 18th

-The Folklife festival in Seattle will be memorial day weekend. there will be a roda there with members of FICA and other capoeiristas!

-This year's Afro-Brasilian Festival is scheduled for June 2nd.

Join us in our 7th annual Community Supported Justice potluck as we honor the legacy of Cesar Chavez and the work of Community to Community Development (C2C). This year, we will be honoring the work of Columbia Legal Services and Executive Director, Aurora Martin, our keynote speaker. More than ever before, C2C needs the support of the community as we move into a critical year for immigration, economic, gender and racial justice. Help us fund the movement at the grassroots, raise awareness and build community! Don’t miss this opportunity to continue the legacy of Cesar Chavez! Aurora Martin is the Director of Columbia Legal Services (CLS), a statewide non-profit civil legal services program whose mission is to achieve social and economic justice for low-income people in Washington State. Among the many communities CLS serves, the program has a long history of serving farm workers and immigrant working families across Washington to ensure the protection and advancement of equal justice and opportunity for all. Aurora has worked to recruit farm worker attorneys to her program. In addition, she has worked with Community to Community on cooperative development for local farm worker women and a pilot project with Heritage University Latino farm worker and Yakama nation students to develop a community program intended to foster public service, entrepreneurship and leadership in the Yakima Valley. Friday, March 29th, 5:30-7:30 pm St. Luke’s Community Health Education Center 3333 Squalicum Pkwy., Bellingham, WA COST: A healthy potluck dish and $5 solidarity donation. DESSERT WILL BE PROVIDED by Las Margaritas www.foodjustice.org for more information

UPDATE: visit by Mestre Cobra Mansa

Bom dia! as winter quarter comes to a close, a few announcements. 1) we WILL be training next monday, March 18th, at 5:30 in the Lounge of the Fairhaven commons. 2) we are continuing to meet on Saturdays to play music at the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, at the corner of Bay and Holly. 3) Next quarter we will be back to train in the MPR at the Viking Union 4) Mestre Cobra Mansa, the founder of the International Capoeira Angola Foundation, and easily one of the most important living Mestres of Capoeira Angola will be in Seattle, Olympia and Portland on March 22 - 26. This is a very exciting opportunity that does not happen often! The schedule is below: MARCH 22 SEATTLE/ UNION CULTURAL CENTER 803 SOUTH KING ST/INT.DISTRICT/ SEATTLE, WA 98118 -capoeira angola roda: 7 to 9pm MARCH 23 UNION CULTURAL CENTER -10am to 12pm - capoeira angola workshop -1pm to 2:30pm - lecture / roots of capoeira angola -2:30pm to 4:30pm - capoeira angola workshop -4:30pm - roda please, for the workshops bring your own berimbau MARCH 24 OLYMPIA/ EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE 2700 EVERGREEN PKWY NW OLYMPIA, WA 98505 THE EVENT WILL BE AT THE LONGHOUSE -10am to 12pm : capoeira angola workshop -1pm to 2pm :lecture- permaculture in brazil -4pm : capoeira angola workshop and roda EVENT INVESTMENT: $20 per class $50 for the weekend MARCH 25/ 26 PORTLAND, OREGON Monday, March 25th Capoeira Angola Workshop - 5:30 to 7:30 pm ($20) Welcome Roda! - 7:30 to 9:00 pm (All are welcome to come play.) Tuesday, March 26th Morning Training - 7:00-9:00 am ($20) Capoeira Angola Workshop - 5:30 to 7:30 pm ($20) Presentation from Mestre Cobra Mansa: Searching for the roots of Capoeira - 8:00 to 9:30 pm ($10) $60 for all Portland Workshops. Please RSVP, as space is limited!

Winter Quarter; and a visit By Mestre Cobra Mansa!

During winter quarter 2013 we are continuing to practice in the Lounge of the Fairhaven Commons on Mondays from 5:30 to 7:30; we have also been having music sessions on Saturday mornings starting from 11:15 or so at the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, at the corner of Bay and Holly. And now for a few special events!

1) Mestre Rene, from ACANNE (Associacao de Capoeira Navio Negreiro) will be in seattle the weekend of February 15th and 16th. the detail of the schedule is below.

 

FRIDAY / FEB 15 : Open Roda - 7 TO 9PM

SATURDAY/ FEB 16 : capoeira angola workshop - 11am to 1pm
capoeira angola music class - 2pm to 3pm
"bring your own berimbau"
capoeira angola open roda - 3pm to 5pm

SATURDAY 7PM : CELEBRATION WITH SEATTLE FANDANGO PROJECT

SUNDAY / FEB 17 : capoeira angola workshop 10am to 12pm
discussion with mestre rene 1pm to 2pm
"acanne and capoeira angola
in brasil, working with kids and youths"

OPEN RODA WITH WHITE CLOTHES 3pm to 5pm

ALL THE CLASSES AND RODAS WILL BE AT

UNION CULTURAL CENTER

803 SOUTH KINS ST/SEATTLE/WA/98104

206 669 0273

workshop fees: $20 per class OR $50 for the weekend
to register please contact:
silvioaleixo@hotmail.com
206 669 0273

 

2) Mestre Cobra Mansa will be in Seattle from March 22nd to the 26th. Details are still TBA, but he will certainly participate in the festival of afro-brasilian arts at the Evergreen State College the weekend of March 23rd and 24th.