Above is an excerpt from 2006's Samba On Your Feet, a documentary about Samba and how a clash of cultures created a new tradition. Directed by Eduardo Montes-Bradley, the documentary is rich with history, culture, and (naturally) samba. Below is the movie's Amazon description. Enjoy!
This lively film goes behind the scenes of the samba and carnival world in Rio de Janeiro to reveal how the cultural clash of the African/Black and European/White cultures gave birth to a new tradition. The historian Haroldo Costa, an expert in carioca folklore, explains how African slaves' beliefs, gods and music mixed with Spanish Catholic and Indian influences centuries ago to create the remarkable fusion that is Brazilian culture. The historian Haroldo Costa, an expert in carioca folklore, explains how African slaves' beliefs, gods and music mixed with Spanish Catholic centuries ago to create the remarkable fusion that is Brazilian culture. The film includes interviews with many active performers and writers of samba such as the composer and singer Xango da Mangueira. He recalls the first days of carnival in Rio de Janeiro when he and his fellow performers sang and danced in the streets but were treated like vagrants and harassed by the police. Mae Helena D'Oxosse, a priestess in the umbanda tradition, incorporates samba in her religious practices and carries on a tradition among her working-class followers that is five hundred years old.
Above is the trailer for Slums, Drums and Capoeira. Directed by Julian KS and Mo Bazazi and produced by Whitematter Ltd, Slums, Drums and Capoeira takes a look at modern Capoeira in Brazil through the eyes of Capoeira mestres, instructors, and up and coming students. Below is a synopsis from their website. Enjoy!
Slums, Drums and Capoeira takes you on a unique journey of discovery into this ancient art form. From its origins in Salvador to Rio's most notorious slum, we see the spirit of Capoeira alive in modern Brazil
Rocinha - the largest slum in Rio de Janiero, where the narrow alleys are stained with the blood of drug trafficking. Here we meet Tiane, a gifted young Capoeirista who lost her brother to the violence. We follow her journey as she fights to establish a Capoeira school in the slum to provide the kids with a different path.
Their story is interwoven with that of the old masters from Salvador the home of Capoeira. With rare footage of Mestre Bimba and Mestre Pastinha (The fathers of modern day Capoeira) and interviews from today's most respected masters (Mestre Curio, Nenel, Bamba, Moraes Bola Sete and many more), Slums , Drums and Capoeira captures the true essence of Capoeira in today's Brazil.
Here's a really nice short documentary by Joe Martinez featuring Mestre Robson de Jesus of Abba Capoeira in Atlanta, GA. Mestre Robson gives great insight into his motivations, history, identity, obstacles and life philosophy with Capoeira.
Filmed in Hong Kong, above is an interview with Mestre Barrao, founder of Grupo Axé Capoeira. In the brief interview, Mestre Barrao discusses what Capoeira is to him, what Capoeira has enabled him to do, and where Capoeira may be headed in the future. Enjoy!
Back in 1993, Mestre Joao Grande and his students performed with the world famous breakdancing group Rock Steady Crew at New York City's Apollo Theater. What pushes the performance above and beyond is how the two groups of artists, Capoeiristas and Breakdancers, start out doing separate sets and, by the end, are playing each other within their respective styles. Above is part one of this incredible show and below is part two. You can find part three here. Enjoy!
In 2001, when Mestre Joao Grande became an NEA National Heritage Fellow, the National Endowment for the Arts interviewed him. With one of his students acting as his translator, Mestre Joao Grande spoke about his influences and inspiration, his challenges, and some of the skills he thinks Capoeiristas need to master Capoeira. Enjoy!
NEA: What are the skills or elements needed for one to master capoeira?
Grande: The most important thing is you must have a good teacher to guide you. You must be able to play all the instruments; you must have something called "Qgo bonita," which means, "a beautiful game." In capoeira, you always say what you're doing is a game. Even though it's a martial art you never say you're fighting - you're never fighting because it is not a fight, it's a game.
That's a very important thing people misunderstand, it's very different from the eastern martial arts, which train actual combats. You say you're going to "play capoeira" or "practice capoeira" or "do capoeira." All of that training, for it is still a martial art, will allow you to know what to do when you get in a difficult situation, but you never practice actually hurting people. That is a very big difference.
Latin Percussion published a cool video with Scott Kettner, percussionist in Nation Beat, showing the basic of playing professional pandeiro. They talk about different skin heads, holding the instruments, basic tones and proper technique. Pretty nice!
A graduate of The New School University Jazz and Contemporary Music program, Scott Kettner has studied intensively in Brazil and in 2004 became a member of one of the oldest existing traditional Maracatu groups from Recife, Brazil, Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante (founded in 1906).
This lively film goes behind the scenes of the samba and carnival world in Rio de Janeiro to reveal how the cultural clash of the African/Black and European/White cultures gave birth to a new tradition. The historian Haroldo Costa, an expert in carioca folklore, explains how African slaves' beliefs, gods and music mixed with Spanish Catholic and Indian influences centuries ago to create the remarkable fusion that is Brazilian culture. The historian Haroldo Costa, an expert in carioca folklore, explains how African slaves' beliefs, gods and music mixed with Spanish Catholic centuries ago to create the remarkable fusion that is Brazilian culture. The film includes interviews with many active performers and writers of samba such as the composer and singer Xango da Mangueira. He recalls the first days of carnival in Rio de Janeiro when he and his fellow performers sang and danced in the streets but were treated like vagrants and harassed by the police. Mae Helena D'Oxosse, a priestess in the umbanda tradition, incorporates samba in her religious practices and carries on a tradition among her working-class followers that is five hundred years old.
NEA: What are the skills or elements needed for one to master capoeira?
A graduate of The New School University Jazz and Contemporary Music program, Scott Kettner has studied intensively in Brazil and in 2004 became a member of one of the oldest existing traditional Maracatu groups from Recife, Brazil, Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante (founded in 1906). 