Brazil: Capoeira and the Amazon

(Capowhat Study Guide)

 

There is an art form rooted in Africa, born in Brazil, and spreading throughout the world. It is a martial art so dangerous that it was once outlawed, so effective that it helped free people from bondage and so graceful that at first glace it looks like just a dance. It is an art form so deceptive that it hides behind a veil of music. It is an expression that is so beautiful that many people believe that there is no contact. It is a fight for freedom that was born in slave houses and today is practiced by doctors and lawyers. It is a game that is both exciting and frightening, a game of cunning, speed, and strength. Those that practice this art have chiseled bodies and lightning fast reflexes. The movements seem to be those of super heroes and comic books. This art form is very real. This art form is Capoeira. Join us on a journey through the land and time that gave birth to the most unique martial art being practiced today.

 

 

Brazil Facts

·        Official Name - Republica Federativa do Brasil (Federative Republic of Brazil)

·        Common Name - Brasil (portuguese) Brazil (English)

·        Named after the Brazilwood tree that early European settlers found there

·        Monetary unit - Real (since 1994)

·        Population - 160 million

·        Official language - Portuguese.

·        Land Size - 3.3million square miles

·        Highest point - Pico da Nebulina at 9,888 feet

·        Lowest Point - Sea level

·        Capital City - Brasilia

·        Date of Independence - September 7, 1822

·        Discovered April 23, 1500 by Pedro Alvares Cabral

·        Major landforms - Amazon River, Pantanal, Iguaçu Falls, Brazilian Highlands

·        Comprised of 26 States and one Federal District

·        Religion - Roman Catholic and African spirituality

·        Agriculture - coffee, soybean, sugarcane, cocoa, rice, beef, corn, cotton, wheat, rubber

·        Industry - Steel, Chemical, Machinery

·        Natural Resources - gold, iron, gemstones, wood

The People and History
Many scientists believe that 30 to 40 thousand years ago hunter-gatherer’s crossed the land bridge that linked Asia to Alaska and spread throughout North and South America, eventually reaching Brazil by 10,000 BC. Rock paintings suggest that Brazil may have been populated as long as 50,000 years ago, possibly by people that arrived in boats. No one is really quite sure because the climate in Brazil is the worst for preserving artifacts. When European explorers arrived in the 1500’s, indigenous people in Brazil numbered probably about 5 to 6 million and were very diverse.

Today there are some 215 tribes in Brazil with a total population of about 350,000. Two-thirds of this population live in the Amazon Region. Each tribe has its own customs and language. Some tribes have almost no contact with the outside world. Others, like the Tikuna, who number over 30,000, have successfully campaigned for their land to be officially recognized. They still face the problems of illegal logging on their land. Most tribes live along the rivers. A few tribes are nomadic, meaning they have few possessions and move constantly in search of food. Other tribes, like the Yanomami, live in large communal huts called Maloca. Up to 300 people may live in a Maloca, with each family having its own fire.

 

Colonization

On April 23, 1500 Pedro Alvares Cabral set foot on the Eastern coast of Brazil and claimed the land for Portugal, just 8 years after Columbus landed in the Americas. Cabral departed from Portugal 3 months before, headed for India. History is not clear whether storms or secret plans changed the course of the 13 ships in his fleet. For the next 322 years, Brazil would remain a Portuguese colony. At first, the Portuguese interacted only with the local Tupi natives. The Indians helped the Portuguese to adapt to the new land, teaching them about food and natural medicine, much like the Native Americans did for the Spaniards. At first the Portuguese paid the Indians to work with small trinkets. Later they used whips and guns to force the Indians. The Indian slaves did not make good workers because they knew the land very well and would escape to the jungle and hide. Many natives died of disease. The Portuguese realized they would need to replace the Indian workers. The Portuguese had already been importing Africans as slaves to Portugal so it was a natural step to bring captive Africans to the new land of Brazil. From the years 1530 to 1850, approximately 3.65 to 4 million Africans were brought to Brazil- more than anywhere else in the world. The Portuguese were expert slave masters. They had over 100 years experience. They knew how to separate an African tribe onto different plantations so the slaves would be weaker and less able to organize. Organized rebellions against captivity would be difficult due to differences in culture and languages between individuals. A bi-product of this separation was that many individual skills were combined on the plantations. The captives were held in slave houses called senzalas. Individuals would often escape into the surrounding forest to hide. Escaped slaves created small villages called quilombos. There were at least 10 major quilombos with social, economic and commercial relationships with nearby cities. The quilombos would organize escapes for other captives as well as give safe refuge to slaves on the run.

 

The most famous of these villages was called the Quilombo dos Palmares, which lasted 67 years in the interior state of Alagoas. The leader and chief of Quilombo dos Palmares was Zumbi. Zumbi and his followers took up arms against the Portuguese and mounted a tremendous resistance that lasted many years. At certain points, the destruction of the Quilombo dos Palmares was of extreme importance to the Portuguese who attacked with their military force and groups of armed men called bandeirantes. Eventually the Quilombo was overcome by the Portuguese. One story has it that rather than be captured, Zumbi plunged to his death from a cliff. Zumbi became a symbol for the contemporary movement of the black culture in Brazil, a symbol of the struggle for freedom for all Brazilians.

 

The slavery continued. The slave trade was abolished in 1850 by the Queiroz Law; however, captive Africans continued to be smuggled into Brazil. In 1885, the Saraiva Cotegipe Law was signed freeing all slaves at the age of 65. In 1888 the emperor of Brazil, Pedro II, was traveling abroad for an extended period of time. His daughter, Princess Isabel, was in charge, acting as regent. In Pedro’s absence she seized an opportunity and signed the Golden Law which freed all of the slaves without any financial compensation to the slave owners and threw Brazil into chaos.

 

Capoeira

It was the enslaved Africans that brought the seeds of the art form known as capoeira with them from Africa. Capoeira is a unique Afro-Brazilian art form that combines martial arts, dance, music, singing, ritual and culture. No one is exactly sure of the origins of capoeira, as most of the records relating to the first two hundred years of slavery in Brazil were destroyed by a resolution signed on December 15, 1890 by Minister of Finance Ruy Barbosa. It is certain; however, that the existence of Capoeira is directly related to the existence of African slaves in Brazil. Some believe that the slaves brought the basics of Capoeira with them and it was nurtured and developed in the senzalas. It is thought that the slave masters punished slaves for training various fighting styles and so the slaves hid the martial arts training with music and made it look like a dance. Others believe that it developed in the quilombos by runaway slaves and was used predominantly as a form of self defense and in efforts to free other captives.

 

Capoeira is unique to Brazil. It is not indigenous to any other area outside of Brazil including Africa, Portugal, the United States, or any other nations that also exploited African slave labor. Other forms of African cultural expression, such as Jazz and Blues, did emerge in those countries; therefore, it is doubtful that Capoeira came from Africa already formed. Whether it developed in quilombos, senzalas or urban environments, once again, no one is sure. What we do know is that capoeira represents the struggle for freedom, especially among the African descendants in Brazil. And it is for this reason that Zumbi, the chief of the Quilombo dos Palmares, is considered a great hero and the number one artist of capoeira.

 

Capoeira was officially outlawed in 1890 because many poor and lower class citizens of Brazil, including recently freed slaves, had become attracted to capoeira. They formed small gangs of ruffians and used the effectiveness of capoeira as a fighting style for violence and muggings. Capoeira continued to exist illegally in spite of massive persecution and oppression by the police.

 

Mestre Bimba

Mestre Bimba, whose real name is Manoel dos Reis Machado, is probably the most important figure relating to contemporary capoeira.  He was born on November 23, 1899 in Salvador, Bahia. He began to learn capoeira at the age of 12. In 1930 a military revolution put Getulio Vargas in power. To gain support of the people, Vargas relaxed the repression of popular cultural expression, including capoeira. Mestre Bimba opened the first school of capoeira in 1932 as a physical education facility. One day Bimba was invited to perform for some important visitors of the state governor, and was thus the first person to officially present capoeira. His school was then officially recognized by the Brazilian government on July 9, 1937, changing the course of capoeira forever. Mestre Bimba’s father was a well known fighter. Bimba incorporated the skills of his father as well as defenses to other fighting arts such as Judo and wrestling, creating a new form of capoeira which he called Capoeira Regional. Capoeira Regional has become the most popular form of capoeira today. Bimba invited any and all fighters of Brazil to meet him in the ring to prove the value of his fighting art. He beat them all. Mestre Bimba died on January 4, 1974, after teaching for more than fifty years. He was tired, poor and far away from his students that cared for him. Today he is considered the father of modern day Capoeira.

 

So what is capoeira? Capoeira is difficult to define in simple terms. It is many things at once, and different things to different people. It is an athletic game played to the beat of the instruments. It is a symbol of the fight for freedom by the oppressed. It is an expression of Brazilian and African culture whose roots are shrouded in mystery. Capoeira is a philosophy and way of life for many people who practice it. It transcends sport, dance, art form and cultural expression. For practical purposes, it is an Afro-Brazilian blend of martial art, dance and acrobatics that combines strength, grace, speed and flexibility into an amazing display of physical conditioning and skill. Capoeirstas take turns "playing" two at a time in a circle, or "roda", formed by participants who clap and sing in time to the rhythms set by the musicians playing traditional instruments. The speed and style of the game being played is determined by the berimbau, a wooden bow, with a single steel string and a resonating gourd. Other instruments are the pandeiro (large tambourine), atabaque (conga-like drum), agogo, (double cowbell), and reco-reco (rasp).

Brazil: The Land
Scientists speculate that one hundred million years ago South America was joined to Africa, Antartica and Australia as part of the super-continent, Gondwana. The continents separated, and for tens of millions of years South America was an island. Many types of plants and animals survived in isolation during this period and in fact thrived in the warm tropical zone around the equatorial path that South America followed. A few million years ago, South America collided with North America allowing plants and animals to move with ease between the two continents. Some of the species flourished while others became extinct. Many unique animals and plants and insects survived in the Amazon region and to this day are concentrated there.

Brazil is located on the South American continent on the Atlantic Ocean and comprises over half the continent. It is located mostly beneath the equator and; therefore has opposite seasons that we have in the United States. Brazil is the 5^th largest country in the world (behind China, Canada, Russia and the USA) and the 6^th most populated. Brazil is approximately 3.3 million square miles total, larger than all of European countries combined (the borders of Brazil easily encompass all of the countries of Europe). Brazil’s 4,600 mile long coastline along the Atlantic Ocean is the longest in the world, and is practically a continuous 4,000 mile beach. Brazil borders every other country in the continent except Ecuador and Chile. It contains many diverse climates. Brazil has 26 states and the capital city is the Federal District of Brasilia. Other major cities include Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Recife, Salvador, Porte Alegre. Sao Paulo, with over 11,000,000 residents, is one of the largest cities in the world.

Nature
Brazil has several huge rivers that are thousands of miles in length. The Amazon River is approximately 4,000 miles long and is by far the world’s highest volume river. At 80 million gallons per second, it produces more fresh water than the next three largest rivers combined. At its mouth, the Amazon is 2 miles wide and expands at points inland to 35 miles wide and as deep as 300 feet. Beginning in the Andes of Peru, the Amazon flows east across the northern end of Brazil. By the time it reaches the Atlantic Ocean, the force of all the water causes 12 foot tidal waves! This keeps the water fresh for miles out into the sea. Some sources claim that the Nile River in Africa is the longest river in the world. Other sources claim the Amazon is the longest river in the world. They are actually very close to the same length, depending on how you measure them.

The Amazon River drains the Amazon Basin, the largest river basin in the world. It covers about 40 to 50 percent of Brazil’s land area and drains an area about the size of Australia. This area is home to the lush tropical rain forest known as the Amazon Jungle.

The Amazon Jungle is thought to be the oldest tropical jungle in the world, perhaps as much as 100 million years old. It spreads out to 8 other countries in South America. The Amazon Jungle produces one third of the world’s oxygen, holds one fifth of the world’s freshwater and makes up one third of the world’s natural forest. It receives approximately 160 inches of rain a year. The Amazon Rain Forest and the Amazon River Basin that encompasses it is known as Amazonia, and is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world.

There is an unbelievable amount of plant life found around this area. There are giant water lily pads large enough to support the weight of an adult human and a purple berry called acai that makes a delicious and nutritious smoothie. Many of the plants that grow in Amazonia are endemic to Amazonia and are used by natives as medicine. Endemic means they are not found in any other part of the world. Logging, mining and other invasive acts of man are destroying massive tracts of rain forest every day. Much of this activity is illegal and habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate because of it. Animals and plants are becoming extinct as that habitat is destroyed. No one may ever know if some of those plants or animals could have been the cure for cancer or some other disease. These are just some of the reasons that many doctors and scientists are concerned about the destruction of the Amazon.

Other major rivers in Brazil include the Sao Francisco and the Parana. The Parana runs through Brazil, and along the borders of Paraguay and Argentina. Along this river are the world famous, breathtaking Iguaçu Falls. These consist of approximately 275 waterfalls, spreading out across 2 miles.

38 kilometers (almost 24 miles) from these amazing falls on the Parana River is the Itaipu Binacional Dam. Itaipu is located on the Brazil/Paraguay border, and is the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant in power output. The dam is 8 km (almost 5 mi) long and is capable of turning out 14 thousand megawatts. It supplies 19% of the energy consumed in Brazil and 91% of the Paraguayan demand.

Itaipu Binacional claims to be committed to environmental conservation. One of their conservation projects is the Spawning Channel. This allows fish to overcome the dam’s 120 meter (393.7 feet) difference in level and swim towards reproduction areas located upstream from the plants reservoir. The channel is 10 km long (6.2 mi). At spawning time from October to March, one can see schools of dourados, armadas, curimbatas, barbados, pintados, pacus, jaus and cascudos conquering the channel steps to complete the cycle of life. One may also see alligators, otter and many different bird species.

Animals
Brazil is one of the world's 17 mega-diversity countries, according to Conservation International. Not surprising, Brazil ranks as one of the world’s most biologically diverse areas. The number of plant and animal species is essentially innumerable. The country has the largest number of species of primates, plants and amphibians in the world. It ranks third in the number of bird species and fourth in the number of butterfly and reptilian species. Brazil has a large number of endemic species, including 96 endemic mammal species. There are so many plants and animals that we have not even identified them all yet. The opinion as to the number of these species varies widely between scientists. There are some 600-1,600 birds; 2,000-3,000 fish; 200 to 600 mammals; 50 to 100 types of bats; 230 snakes; 30 monkeys; and 200 mosquitoes. Many animals are found only in this region.

Here are just a few of the interesting animals that can be found in the Amazon:

Mammals
Bats - 50 to 100 types of bats are found in Amazonia. They are the only mammal that can actively fly. South America is home to the famous vampire bat. This bat bites the sleeping mammals and drinks the seeping blood.

Monkeys - the Amazon is home to more monkeys than any other part of the world. There are some very beautiful and unique primates. For example, the Pigmy Marmoset, with a weight of no more than 7 ounces, is the world’s smallest monkey. The Silvery Marmoset is a nearly all-white monkey with a pink face. The Golden Lion Tamarin, has a lion-like mane and is facing extinction due to a reduced habitat. Howler Monkeys make vocalizations that can be heard up to 3 miles away and can be quite loud and frightening.

Jaguars - similar to a panther, it is the only big cat in the Amazon. It can reach a weight in excess of 220 lbs. Its fur is golden brown and spotted with black dots. It resembles a leopard, but is much larger. It rarely attacks humans. The value of their fur has led to severe hunting.

Pumas - several species of smaller cats include the Puma. They are very secretive and can rarely be observed. They are also endangered by the fur and pet trades.

Amazon is also home to a variety of dogs, raccoons, weasels, skunks, deer and otters. The giant otter can reach 6 feet in length

Rodents – mammals characterized by continuously growing front teeth adapted for gnawing.

Amazonia has over 100 species of rodents. Most are similar to common mice, rats and squirrels found elsewhere in the world. It is also home to the Capybara, the world’s largest rodent- weighing up to 145 pounds. They resemble but are unrelated to pigs. They are considered attractive game.

Aquatic Mammals -  mammals adapted to live more or less permanently in the water.

There are two freshwater dolphins that inhabit the Amazon.

Amazonian River Dolphin  – also called the Pink River Dolphin because of its unique color. This is the larger of the two river dolphins, it can reach 8 feet (2.5 m) and weigh 350 pounds (160kg). It likes to cruise slowly along the bottom, using its unique sonar sensory equipment to search for fish and crustacean. The bulging forehead is a sonar weapon as well as a detector, bombarding and stunning prey with high-frequency sound bursts. Fearsome predators like their saltwater cousins, they are generally less playful with humans.

Gray Dolphin – reaches 5 feet (1.5 m) in length and about 110 pounds (50kg) in weight. This smaller river dolphin is agile and adept at catching quick-moving fish near the surface, contrasting the bottom-feeding pink dolphin.

Amazonian Manatee- lengths up to 9 feet long and weigh up to 1100 pounds. They are similar to the manatee found in Florida and other locations except that they live in fresh water rather than salt water.

Edentates - mammals with no or very few teeth. Comprised of anteaters, sloths and armadillos.

Anteaters - the only mammal with no teeth at all. Giant anteaters grow to be about 6 feet long and about 90 pounds. Their tongues may be up to 24 inches long. They can be bitten by ants, so they avoid leafcutter and army ants. They live on the ground. The lesser anteater is half the size of a giant anteater, lives in trees, and has a prehensile tail like a monkey. The Pygmy or Silky Anteater, the smallest of the anteater species (only 20 inches long), also lives in trees.

Sloths - are either 2 or 3 toed varieties (refers to the number of toes on their fore legs (all sloths are 3 toed on their hind legs). They have round heads and flat faces and long curved claws to hold them as they climb upside down. Sloths move very slowly, this helps camouflage them and conserve energy. They are sustained on a very poor diet of just leaves. The three toed sloth is the slowest mammal on earth on the ground. It can move just 6 to 8 feet per minute.

Armadillos - have a bony shell and slow metabolism that keeps them from overheating underground. When threatened they curl into a ball to protect their bellies.

Ungulate - hoofed mammals.
Peccary – the closest relative to the wild pig and similar in stature. If a group with young cannot evade a predator, a single adult will heroically confront it, often with fatal results. It is one of the jaguar’s principle prey.

Tapirs - the only South American odd toed ungulate. They are a smaller relative of the rhinoceros. They have a short trunk for a snout, which, similar to an elephant, can be used to grasp food.

Reptiles
Anacondas – are constrictor snakes that can reach up to 33 feet in length and 550 pounds in weight. It is the largest snake in the world. Anacondas kill their prey through the fearsomely powerful constriction of their coils. Anacondas give birth to live young, with a litter containing 30 to 80 baby snakes about 28 inches long each.

Poison Dart Frogs - these are best known Amazonian frogs. They are very colorful and are some of the most toxic animals on Earth. Their elaborate designs and hues ward off potential predators, a tactic called aposematic coloration. Indigenous people have used the venom for centuries to tip their blowgun darts when hunting, hence the genus' common name. One variety of poison dart frog has enough venom to kill 10 grown men.

Insects
Army Ants - do not have permanent dwellings like other ants, but move about carrying their eggs and pupae with them. Colonies can number over 1 million. They march in military style several meters (feet) wide and 100 meters in length and devour every living thing in their way. These ants will colonize the Cecropia Tree and live in their branches and attack every living being, including humans, that touches the tree.

Fish
Brazil is home to 2,000 to 3,000 types of fish

Piranha -. The ferocity of the piranha has been greatly exaggerated. There are 20 species of piranha, but only a handful are dangerous. That said, the black piranha, which reaches up to 16 inches in length, is particularly vicious and is blamed for many human deaths. Under most conditions, piranha are relatively harmless. However, during the dry season, when schools are contained to smaller bodies of water and food is scarce, they can be especially dangerous. The Red Piranha, though small, only about 8 inches in length, has very sharp serrated teeth that natives use as cutting tools. The teeth must be used frequently or they will grow too large. If they are in concentrated numbers and taste blood, the feeding frenzy can be astonishing. A large animal carcass can be stripped to the bones in minutes.

Electric Eels - one of several species that can generate and detect electrical impulses, but the only one that can kill or stun large prey. It can produce up to 650 volts. This is five times the voltage that comes out a wall socket, and is strong enough to injure or even kill a human.

Birds
Channel-Billed Toucan - these birds are exotic even by Amazonian bird life standards. Their bills can be as long as their bodies- the largest in relation to their size of any bird. The bill is very light, mostly hollow, and is mainly used to pluck berries and other fruit.

Words to Learn

capoeira - Afro-Brazilian martial art that blends fight, dance and acrobatics,    utilizes speed and agility in a combination of fakes, attacks and defenses. Can be very playful and gentle or fast and aggressive.

roda - Portuguese word for wheel. Refers to a circle formed by the people surrounding the action of Capoeira. It also is used to generally refer to a Capoeira gathering.

berimbau - an instrument of African origin that commands the game of Capoeira. It sets the speed and style of the game. The berimbau consists of a bowed piece of wood, a steel string, a dried hollow gourd used as a resonant chamber, a small coin or rock, a straw shaker and a small stick. The sound of the berimbau is produced when the wire is struck by a wooden stick which is held in the right hand with a small shaker made of woven straw. The sound of the shaker adds richness and texture to the sound of the string. By pressing or removing the coin or rock to the string a different note can be attained.

atabaque - a big drum similar to a conga. The atabaque is made of wood held together with steel bands and a raw hide head tightened with rope and wood wedges.

pandiero - resembles a tambourine. The Pandiero is covered with thin stretched skin and has small metal rings to make a jingling sound.

reco reco - a wooden or steel instrument with ridges that are scraped with a stick producing a rasp sound similar to that of a washboard being played.

agago - a double headed cow bell of African origin.

Zumbi - the chief of the famous Quilombo dos Palmares (Quilombo of the Palms). Zumbi was and is a symbol of the struggle for freedom.

quilombo - communities of escaped slaves located in the jungles of Brazil. The quilombos resembled African villages.

senzala - slave house on a plantation.

favela - Brazilian slum.

bom dia - Portuguese for “good day”. A typical greeting in Brazil.

beleza - Portuguese for “beautiful”. A typical greeting of the younger generations of Brazilians.

Itaipu - the world’s largest hydro-electrical plant in power output. This dam is located on the Parana River on the border of Brazil and Paraguay.

Gondwana - a landmass that separated toward the end of the Paleozoic Era to form South America, Africa, Antartica and Australia.

indigenous - adjective. Refers to people, plants or animals originating naturally in a region.

endemic - belonging exclusively or confined to a particular place.

edentate - mammals with no or very few teeth.

ungulate - hoofed mammals

Portuguese - the first settlers of Brazil and the language they speak.

Equator - the imaginary circle on the Earth that is equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole.

prehensile -  adapted for seizing, grasping, or taking hold of something (for example: a monkey’s tale is prehensile)

pupae - an insect in the transformation stage between the larvae and the adult.

Tupi’ - an Indian tribe indigenous to Brazil.

Guarani’ - an Indian tribe indigenous to Brazil.

jaguar - Tupi’-Guarani’ word for jaguar.

tapioca - Tupi’-Guarani’ word for tapioca.

 

Bibliography

Skidmore, Thomas E. Brazil: Five Centuries of Change. New York: Oxford      University Press, 1999

Itapoan, Cesar. The Saga of Mestre Bimba. North Arlington, NJ: Capoeira Legados, 2006

Capoeira, Nestor. Capoeira: Roots of the Dance-Fight-Game. Berkley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2002

---.The Little Capoeira Book. Berkley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2003

Almeida, Bira- Mestre Acordeon. Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form: History, Philosophy, and Practice. Berkley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1986

Corona, Laurel. Brazil. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2000

Burns, E. Bradford. A History of Brazil. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993

Insight Guides: Amazon Wildlife. Maspeth, NY: Langenscheidt, 2002

Capelas, Afonso, Jr. Amazonia: The Land, The Wildlife, The River, The People. Toronto: Firefly Books, 2003

Simon, Charnan. Geography of the World: The Mysterious Amazon. Chanhassen, MN: The Child’s World, 2005

Sterling, Tom and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Amazon. Amsterdam: Time-Life, 1973

Weitzman, Elizabeth. Globe-trotters Club: Brazil. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner, 1998

Richard, Christopher and Leslie Jermyn. Cultures of the World: Brazil. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2002

Websites

The Smithsonian National Geological Park- www.nationalzoo.si.edu

Information on Endangered Mammals- www.animalinfo.org

National Geographic- www.nationalgeographic.com

Itaipu Binacional Hydroelectric Power Plant- www.itaipu.gov.br

 

Who is Capowhat?
Rodney Ondrus and Mary Taylor study Capoeira with Group Volta Ao Mundo in Tampa, Florida. They travel to Brazil to train with well respected masters and submerge themselves in Brazilian culture for many weeks at a time. They are dedicated to spreading their love and knowledge of capoeira culture and history. Rodney and Mary currently teach classes in St. Petersburg, Florida and perform Capowhat shows for children and young adults.

This study guide and more information may be found at www.capowhat.com.

Please contact us info@capowhat.com with any questions or to book a show.

 

Disclaimer:

The information presented here is a collection of information from various sources. Much of the information is highly disputed amongst scientists and capoeiristas. We have presented the views of some of the greatest mestres and authorities on the topics, whose opinions we respect. This is a simplified and general study guide to aid in a general understanding of the country of Brazil and the world of capoeira. It is to be used strictly as a supplement guide for the Capowhat education program. This is in no way intended to be a complete representation of all of the people’s, places, plants or animals of Brazil, Brazilian culture or capoeira. We hope you enjoy the study guide. Please feel free to copy, distribute and share with students, friends and colleagues. We welcome any feedback. If you feel something is inaccurate please contact us at capo.what@yahoo.com.