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The law that prohibited the practice of capoeira was still effect until 1920, and its practice disguised as a "folk dance." In their hidden places, capoeiristas did their best to keep the tradition alive, and by presenting it as a folk art, they made the practice of capoeira more acceptable to the society. In those years it was
very common for a capoeirista to have two or three nicknames. The police knew all the capoeiristas by these names and not by their real identity, so it made it much more difficult to arrest them. (This tradition is continued today.
When a person is "baptized" into the practice of capoeira, they are given a nickname.) In 1937, Mestre Bimba, one of the most important masters of capoeira, received an invitation from the president to demonstrate his art in the capital. After a successful performance he went back to his home state and with the government's permission, opened the first capoeira school in Brazil. It was the first step towards a more open development, and years later the senate passed a bill establishing capoeira as a national sport. Today capoeira is all over the world. In Brazil, as part of the culture, there is capoeira everywhere - in elementary schools,
universities, clubs, and in military academies.
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Basic movements are ginga, handstand, queda de rins, au, au Malandro, cocorinha, queda de tres, queda de quatro, rolê, chapa de costas, meia lua, macaco, bênção, ponteira, queixada, armada, martelo, rasteira, escorpiao, tesoura, cruz among hundreds.
Rio de Janeiro
guide
Brazil guide |
Capoeira glossary
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