PROGRAMA CAPOEIRA :

CAPOEIRA'S HISTORY IS THE HISTORY OF SLAVERY IN BRAZIL. SINCE THE 16TH CENTURY, PORTUGAL EXTENSIVELY ADOPTED SLAVERY TO MAN THEIR COLONIES, COMING MAINLY FROM WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA. BRAZIL, WITH ITS VAST TERRITORY, WAS THE MAJOR DESTINATION OF AFRICAN SLAVES, RECEIVING 38.5% OF ALL SLAVES SENT BY SHIPS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
CAPOEIRA HAS A LONG AND CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY, SINCE HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION IN BRAZIL WAS VERY SCARCE IN ITS COLONIAL TIMES. EVIDENCES, STUDIES AND ORAL TRADITION LEAVE LITTLE DOUBT ABOUT ITS ORIGINS.
IN THE 16TH CENTURY PORTUGAL HAD ONE OF THE BIGGEST COLONIAL EMPIRES OF THE WORLD, BUT IT LACKED PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY COLONIZE IT. IN THE BRAZILIAN COLONY THE PORTUGUESE, LIKE MANY OTHER EUROPEAN COLONISTS, OPTED TO USE SLAVERY TO SUPPLY THIS SHORTAGE OF WORKERS. COLONISTS TRIED TO ENSLAVE BRAZILIAN NATIVES IN THE BEGINNING, BUT THIS QUICKLY PROVED TOO DIFFICULT FOR MANY REASONS, INCLUDING THE FAMILIARITY NATIVES HAD WITH THE LAND. THE SOLUTION WAS IMPORTING SLAVES FROM AFRICA. [1]
IN ITS FIRST CENTURY THE MAIN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN THE COLONY WAS THE PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING OF SUGARCANE. PORTUGUESE COLONISTS USED TO CREATE LARGE SUGARCANE FARMS CALLED ENGENHOS, FARMS WHICH EXTENSIVELY USED ENSLAVED WORKERS. SLAVES, LIVING IN INHUMANE AND HUMILIATING CONDITIONS, WERE FORCED TO WORK HARD AND OFTEN SUFFERED PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT FOR ANY SMALL MISBEHAVIOUR.[1] EVEN THOUGH SLAVES OUTNUMBERED THE PORTUGUESE COLONISTS, THE LACK OF WEAPONS, THE COLONIAL LAW, THE DISAGREEMENT AMONG SLAVES COMING FROM DIFFERENT AFRICAN CULTURES AND THEIR COMPLETE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE LAND AND ITS SURROUNDINGS WOULD USUALLY DISCOURAGE THE IDEA OF A REBELLION.
IN THIS ENVIRONMENT CAPOEIRA BEGAN TO DEVELOP. MORE THAN A FIGHTING STYLE, IT WAS CREATED AS A HOPE OF SURVIVAL, A TOOL WITH WHICH AN ESCAPED SLAVE, COMPLETELY UNEQUIPPED, COULD SURVIVE IN THE HOSTILE, UNKNOWN LAND AND FACE THE HUNT OF THE CAPITÃES-DO-MATO, COLONIAL AGENTS IN CHARGE OF FINDING ESCAPEES, ALWAYS ARMED AND MOUNTED.


CAPOEIRA CLUB

(Esquilo Preto) Capoeirista…. An enthusiast of martial arts since childhood, Washington Luiz Lima Porto (Esquilo) developed an interest in Capoeira as a teenager when he began studying with Mestre Jelon Vieira in Salvador, Bahia,Brazil. A student of Mestre Jelon and a member of Grupo Capoeira Brasil since 1994, Mr. Porto has devoted his life to Capoeira and the instruction of this unique Afro-Brazilian martial art. He is currently teaching Capoeira in Miami and Miami Beach. He was a visiting artist with Ilê Bahia de San Antonio, of San Antonio, Texas, where he taught Capoeira classes for all age and skill levels. Mr. Porto has organized and directed several annual international Capoeira events, and he has also given numerous Capoeira workshops in New York, New York; Denver, Colorado, Fresno, California; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Salvador, Brazil, Saint Louis, Missouri; San Antonio and Houston, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Bethel and Anchorage, Alaska; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Gainesville, Florida; Hartford, Connecticut; and Trenton, New Jersey. Between 1996 and 1998, he served as an assistant to Mestre Jelon for beginning level students in Salvador. In 1997 and 2001, Mr. Porto also toured with the internationally acclaimed African-Brazilian dance company DanceBrazil, performing and choreographing in Phoenix, Arizona; New York City and San Antonio, Texas. Other performances include ESPN’s Global X-Games & Asian New Year’s Festival in San Antonio, TX, and the Off-Broadway production of “Rio” in New York, where he both choreographed and performed, and a performing tour in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan in 2001. He also choreographed Capoeira fight scenes for the Off-Broadway Musical “Miracle Brothers” written by Kristen Childs and directed by Tina Laudau. Mr. Porto has also had the privilege of being a photo model for Barneys New York’s 2003 catalogue and Nike new product release in San Francisco.