Last Sunday evening, walking back to my car parked in the Baixa, after a day of visiting Lisbon's Roman ruins, I heard a rhythmic singing in the distance, thought of football fans and decided to go and see what was happening. It was much better than football fans; it was a group of about 40 Brazilians sheltered from the rain in an arcade of Praça de Comércio, performing capoeira.This is a dance of the Salvador, Bahia region of Brazil that is based on an ancient martial art which crossed the Atlantic with the African slaves. Long ago, the combattants would have sharp blades between their toes to try to slash their opponents, until it was banned. The violence was woven into a pure athletic dance form.
As I got nearer, the sound of the clapping in unison, the berimbau (traditional African string instrument played with a long bow) and percussion and the loud chanted songs became so powerful and loud, so hypnotic that at first I thought it was a religious ritual. Then I found them and the rain was forgotten. This was not a performance for the public's benefit, just for the group's pure enjoyment, as well as anyone interested.
I think that in fact, you can feel that capoeira at its best, most natural is not far from the rituals of the famous Afro-Brazilian non-Christian religions, like candomblé. Look at the intensity and total rapture on these faces.
Best event of the day, without a doubt. Except for my camera, because I would have preferred to have total shutter speed control and the light was very difficult.
Go on down to the second post below to see the motion
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10 comments:
Quoi que ce soit - ils passent temps mieux que moi cette soirée!
Bon, il te faut apprendre capoeira!! Pourquoi pas? Ça existe aussi à Paris.
I've only seen Capoeira live once but it's great. It's funny cause last Saturday I took several photos in Praça do Comercio.
Fantastic - I like these photos even better than the others below - the explanation is great too. I share your wish for a better camera - I'm saving up for my digital SLR! At the rate I'm going, I might be able to get it in, oh, 18 months :)
Oh, how cool is this? You really got lucky in Praça do Comércio. All I ever find under the arcades are grumpy second hand book's salesmen and grumpy waiters at Martinho.
I'll reply to your mail tomorrow, S.
Fernando Pessoa, estará muito feliz, admirando a feira dos livros a bom preço que se realiza perto dele.Felizmente os portugueses começam a gostar de comprar livros.Outro assunto: fui com amigos brasileiros assistir a essa famosa luta.E pensarmos que no Brasil,por vezes nem são lutadores prifissionais.É uma coisa que nasce com eles,como o samba e como o seu delicioso português com açucar
la 1º vez que vi capoeira fue en 1996, en Uruguay.. era un encuentro de estudiantes de arquitectura y los chicos de Brasil se lucieron haciendo capoeira :)
I first saw this in London in 1989 at the first big Latin American festival on the South Bank of the River Thames, opposite the Houses of Parliament. I knew all about it already and knew the music well. I think the dasncers were actually better in London. Here, it was another thing, the atmosphere.
Funny, 5 days later, what I retain most is not the visual of the movements, but the atmosphere, the exhilaration and sheer volume of the rhythmic clapping & singing and the sound of the berimbaus and percussion in that unlikely place!
Ana & Carlos, once again, the old thing of right place, right time. Doesn't happen much here, as nothing much happens. Except for the big feira artisanal with bulls over the next 8 days...any excuse no Ribatejo!
E Mami R, estou de acordo, ninguem vence aos brasileiros em tudo que diz respeito ao ritmo e movimentação - desporto e música são os campiões!
La capoera, cela ressemble à la boxe française, cela demande beaucoup de souplesse.
C'est comme une danse et pourtant c'est un sport de combat. C'est beau !
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