by Christina Sponias

Created on: May 17, 2009   Last Updated: May 18, 2009

Capoeira appeared in Brazil in the XVI century, when the Portuguese, who had discovered and colonized this country, brought Africans there from Angola, which was also their colony, in order to make them to work on the Brazilian lands, planting coffee and sugar cane.

The Portuguese were barbarous with the poor Africans, who were their slaves, and had no right to fight in any way. Everything was forbidden to them.

The slaves were always trying to find ways to survive under such cruelty, besides desperately trying to escape and live freely again.

The tortures they had to bear were humiliating and painful. They lost their dignity and pride, living revolted and sad.

At the same time, they tried to accept their tragic destiny and courageously continue their difficult march, without knowing what else they could do in the tragic situation they were in.

Since they were forbidden to fight with each other and practice the techniques of fighting, which could be very dangerous for the Portuguese colonizers, the African slaves, who used to dance following their religious rituals, created a secret fighting game, which they camouflaged with dancing movements.

While supposedly following the rhythm of their music and dancing, the black slaves were in fact fighting with each other in a covert manner. Capoeira is the dance, game and fight that they created in order to preserve their cultural values, and at the same time, have a way to release their stress.

Even though it was a camouflaged fight, its violent character was visible, and this is why Capoeira was forbidden to the slaves too. They used to dance and fight it while hidden from the Portuguese colonizers, who could not control them all the time.

The black's slavery finally ended only on May the 13th of 1888, thanks to a law named Aurea.

However, Capoeira continued to be considered a violent dance, and was still forbidden in Brazil until 1930, when a very important Capoeirista (Capoeira dancer) named Master Bimba presented this rhythmic fight to the president of the time, Getulio Vargas, who liked it so much that he transformed it into a national sport.

Capoeira was modified with time, acquiring three different styles.

1. Capoeira Angola is the first style of this fight and dance, created at the time of the African slavery, with very slow and low movements near the ground, which had a malicious character.

2. Capoeira Regional, which follows the rhythm of the berimbau (an African musical instrument, made with bamboo and strings) is the next style of this fight, that imitates the malice of the Capoeira Angola, but is expressed through very fast and dry movements, without the acrobatic dances of the first stage.

3. Capoeira Contemporary is the last style of this rhythmic fight, which combines the movements and the art of both Capoeira Angola and Capoeira Regional, forming a spectacular game that the public always watches with great enthusiasm.

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