capoeira - Blogs - Tripatini2024-03-28T12:41:59Zhttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/capoeiraBrazil's Capoeira and the Documentary 'Fly Away Beetle'https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/capoeira-and-the-documentary-fly-away-beetle2013-06-03T14:16:30.000Z2013-06-03T14:16:30.000ZIberostar Hotels & Resortshttps://tripatini.com/members/IberostarHotelsResorts<div><p><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARugendasroda.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Rugendasroda.jpg?width=800" width="800" class="align-center" alt="Rugendasroda.jpg?width=800" /></a></p><p><br /> The exact origins of <strong><a title="Capoeira" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira" target="_blank">capoeira</a></strong> are uncertain, although most people recognize that it was created by the 16th-century African slaves who were shipped across the Atlantic. The movements contain unmistakable native Brazilian influences. What noone can deny is that capoeira has been around for almost 500 years and is now as powerful a cultural symbol of <a title="Brazil" href="http://www.iberostar.com/EN/Brazil/hotels-Brazil.html">Brazil</a> as it ever has been.<br /> <br /> <strong style="font-size:13px;">Capoeira – The Early Years<br /> <br /></strong> <span style="font-size:13px;">Practicing a form that's part dance, part martial art, </span><strong style="font-size:13px;">a capoeira fighter</strong><span style="font-size:13px;"> is distinguished by his constant motion and rocking back and forth. The movements are designed to put a potentially larger and better armed opponent at a disadvantage and the effectiveness of capoeira as a mean fighting method have led to its rather dark reputation over the years. Capoeira usually takes place to the beat of traditional </span><strong style="font-size:13px;">Brazilian music</strong><span style="font-size:13px;">.<br /> <br /></span> <span style="font-size:13px;">Indeed it was banned as an activity for around 60 years in the late 19th/early 20th century; but the practice lived on, with underground capoeira clubs attracting plenty of eager young men to their ranks.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span> <strong style="font-size:13px;">Capoeira in Salvador<br /> <br /></strong> <span style="font-size:13px;">Salvador da Bahia is considered the heartland of capoeira and the place from which it took root in Brazilian culture. In modern day Brazil there is a renewed interest and widespread acceptance of capoeira and now it is not uncommon for visitors to Salvador to learn the basics while they are also taking a language course!<br /> <br /></span> <strong style="font-size:13px;">'Fly Away Beetle'<br /> <br /></strong> <span style="font-size:13px;">Just released May 10 on iTunes, the 2011 documentary film <em>Fly Away Beetle</em> aimed to bring awareness of capoeira to a wider global audience. The movie follows the lives of three masters of the art as they describe the origins of capoeira and tell in their own words why it is that this martial art/dance has become such an important symbol of hope in Brazil.<br /> <br /></span> <span style="font-size:13px;">The movie looks at the lives of some of the disadvantaged young people of Salvador who have benefited from the discipline and camaraderie of being part of the </span><strong style="font-size:13px;">capoeira fight</strong><span style="font-size:13px;"> scene and have chosen to follow the art form as an alternative to the city’s street gangs.<br /> <br /></span> <span style="font-size:13px;">After a successful US premiere the filmmakers took at taking the movie around the world, sharing in Europe and beyond an eye-opener into an art form that carries with it a rich and colorful history. And if you visit Salvador, be sure to check out the capoeira masters in the streets. You’ll be watching 500 years of history flashing before your eyes...</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-1"><em>Image | <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARugendasroda.jpg">Johann Moritz Rugendas</a></em></span></p><p><span class="font-size-1"><em>from <a href="http://passportto.iberostar.com" target="_blank">PassportTo.Iberostar.com</a></em></span></p><p></p><p></p></div>Capoeira, A Haunting Star of Brazilian Culture in Salvadorhttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/capoeira-a-haunting-star-of-brazilian-culture-in-salvador2012-06-06T14:30:00.000Z2012-06-06T14:30:00.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><p><a href="http://passportto.iberostar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Capoeira-image-by-jrubinic-on-Flickr.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://passportto.iberostar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Capoeira-image-by-jrubinic-on-Flickr.jpg?width=640" width="640" class="align-center" alt="Capoeira-image-by-jrubinic-on-Flickr.jpg?width=640" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://passportto.iberostar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Capoeira-image-by-jrubinic-on-Flickr.jpg" title="What to do in Brazil, Salvador, Capoeira"><br /></a> One of the great things about living in Miami is its unrivalled mix of Latin cultures, and Brazilians play a big part in that. One thing that especially stands out is that it seems that whenever I go out in South Beach, I come across a group of ridiculously fit young guys (sometimes sprinkled with girls) practicing <strong>capoeira</strong>, a hypnotically sinuous series of moves resembling a cross between modern dance and martial arts, accompanied by throbbing drums, strings, and haunting songs, sometimes in call and response:<br /> <br /> <em>Abalou, capoeira, abalou,</em></p>
<p><em>oi se abalou deixa abalar.<br /> Abalou, capoeira, abalou,<br /> Mas se abalou deixa abalar.<br /> <br /></em> <strong>What Is Capoeira in Salvador?<br /> <br /></strong> Even better, though, is getting to <strong>travel to Brazil</strong> and seeing this amazing Afro-Brazilian art form performed in the country of its 16th-century roots, where it developed among slaves as a means of defense and offense, especially useful for those who were able to escape into the bush and form their own communities. Because it was so effective against the slaveowners and the army, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira" target="_blank">capoeira</a> was even made illegal by the Portuguese colonial authorities. After independence, the post-colonial government followed suit, because some <em>capoeiristas</em> (capoeira practitioners ) – freed slaves with few other choices in making a living – started turning their abilities toward crime.<br /> <br /> Those days are long past, fortunately, and capoeira is very much a source of pride and central to the <strong>culture of Brazil</strong> – not to mention a world cultural ambassador and magnet for tourism. Since Salvador and Bahia are the country’s premier centers of Afro-Brazilian culture, the form goes way back hereabouts, and visitors today find plenty of venues to see it in action. For the truly captivated, there are even programs here that’ll teach you the moves, from beginners up to advanced, for as few as five days.<br /> <br /> That may be a little too ambitious for you, but take it from me, you don’t want to visit Salvador without witnessing this fascinating and key part of its culture. <em>Abalou!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <i>Longtime travel journalist and guidebook author <strong>David Paul Appell</strong> is CEO of Tripatini.com and its parent EnLinea Media LLC, an online content provider and social media management company.</i><span> </span><br /> <br /> <br /></em></p></div>