ter seu dobrao no bolso...

keeping your own dobrao in your pocket: it's an angoleir@ thing.

My friend Marco Simonetti (below) has made dobroes for us in the past, and he just finished making the ones above!

experiments

Capoeira has introduced me to so many ideas... i had a wonderful session with master weaver Roberto Bottaini, from Pescia, Italy, as we attempted to make caxixis from materials that are indigenous to the specific region of Tuscany where i'm from.

They may not be optimal for the roda, but i learned a lot!

At the MLK Conference!

Just a couple of images from Saturday's conference.

An intergenerational community practice

angoleir@s from Seattle, Bellingham and Vancouver!

Thank you Mestre Silvinho, Caitlin, Camilo and Gabi! and to the organizers of the MLK conference at the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force and the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center.

As a final note, if you haven't seen the movie Selma - go see it!

Capoeira is part of the humanity's Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - recognized capoeira as part of humanity's intangible cultural heritage on November 26th 2014.

The video below (in English) was made by UNESCO:

The video below (in Portuguese) was made by the Brazilian Minister of Culture:

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!