HOMAGE TO MESTRE PEIXINHO

In portuguese and English.

Dez ou quinze anos atras eu estava no Rio de Janeiro durante um batizado do Mestre Peixinho. O salão estava cheio de capoeiristas, convidados e muitos mestres. O ambiente estava eletrizado e nos fizemos um jogo que jamais esquecerei. 

Peixinho mantinha sua cadência usual com elegância e fluidez. Eu fazia o melhor que podia naquele momento de manha e perigo. Em certo ponto, eu chamei ele para o passo a dois… Peixinho veio e caminhamos juntos  enquanto eu arquitectava uma malandragem para surpreendê-lo. Chegou a hora e apliquei uma tesoura fulminante. Rodei no ar e esperei ver o Mestre cair. Não sei como Peixinho conseguiu saltar como um peixe voador ou melhor, como um morcego se esquivando de uma pedrada certeira. Ele deu um mergulho passando entre minhas pernas e parou numa queda de rim, liso e pronto para o que desse e viesse. Eu fiquei abismado com sua velocidade e principalmente com sua capacidade de antecipar um movimento tão inesperado. A plateia veio abaixo com aplausos que pontuaram o momento culminante daquele jogo. 

Gostaria de ter visto aquele passagem mágica mas não sei se existe algum video daquela roda. Ficou apenas a fotografia em que a Pimpa cristalizou o momento exato em que minha tesoura cortou o vento.

Peixinho se foi e levou consigo uma simplicidade exemplar e sofisticada, sua arte de falar pouco, uma energia quieta mas sempre presente, ensinamentos, amizade e todas as qualidades positivas que ele enfeixou em suas mãos como ser humano, mestre e capoeiristas. Adeus, Mestre. O Senhor viverá em nossas memórias!

_________

Ten or fifteen years ago I was in Rio de Janeiro at a batizado of Mestre Peixinho. The room was full with many guests, capoeiristas, and invited mestres. A fantastic energy was floating in the air, electrifying the jogos. Peixinho and I had a jogo that I will never forget. 

As usual, Peixinho was maintaining his elegant cadence with fluidity. I was doing the best that I could with great attention to the manha and danger involved. At a certain point, I did a call for the passo a dois. Peixinho accepted and we walk together back and forth… Of course I was engendering a malandragem to catch him off guard. The moment arrived and I went for a fulminant tesoura de costas. I spun in the air and expected to see the Mestre fall. Peixinho jumped like a flying fish or a bat dodging a well thrown rock. He flew in between my legs and landed in a perfect queda-de-rins, ready for whatever was about to happen. I was astonished with his speed and capacity to anticipate my treacherous movement. The audience applauded enthusiastically, framing the crux of the jogo. 

I would like to have seen that magic escape, but I have no clue if there was any video tape of it. Only Pimpa's precise photo crystalized the moment in which my tesoura cut the empty air.

Peixinho left us for real. He took with him an exemplary and sophisticated simplicity, his art of speaking in a few words, his ever present quite and positive energy, his teachings, friendship, and all the great qualities that he held as a human being, a mestre, and a capoeirista. Boa viagem, Mestre. You will live in our memories!

WHERE IS JASON?

Em Português and in English

Algum tempo atras eu recebi uma cópia do meu livro "Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form" pelo correio. Ele tinha sido transformado em um diário pessoal porquê a pessoa que me enviou a cópia escreveu seus pensamentos, ideias e ideais em suas páginas. O livro tornou-se uma colagem com textura própria e com um grande sentimento de amor pela capoeira. Este trabalho me inspirou a escrever um livro neste estilo. Tentei materializa-lo com o livro "Capoeira Arts Café: Uma Academia de Capoeira" mas, não foi possível. The "Capoeira Arts Café" tornou-se um livro extraordinário nos seus próprios méritos por causa das suas fotografias e memórias escritas por nossos alunos. É um livro de conteúdo e fotografias bonitas mas, publicado numa forma convencional.

Esta manhã eu me deparei de novo com o livro de Jason no meio da bagunça do meu "escritório". Passei algum tempo folheando ele que de novo me inspirou. Infelizmente perdi o endereço do Jason e nunca pude lhe agradecer. Estou agradecendo a ele neste momento e espero que um dos nossos leitores me ajudem a encontrar Jason, talvez na Australia ou Nova Zelandia.

Some time ago I received a copy of my book "Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form" in the mail. It was transformed into a personal journal, because the person who sent it wrote his thoughts, ideas, and ideals all over the pages. It became a beautiful scrapbook of wonderful texture and weight. It inspired me to do a book in that style. I made an attempt when I was putting together the book "Capoeira Arts Café:  An Academia de Capoeira" but I could not reproduce Jason's diary. The "Capoeira Arts Café" become an extraordinary book in its own merit due to its pictures and our students writing contributions. But it ended up in a more conventional publishing format.

This morning I saw Jason's book in the mass of books on my desk. I spent some time looking at it, and once again felt inspired by his work.  I lost his address and have long wanted to thank him. So, help me to find Jason who sent the book from Australia or New Zealand. 

The Great Capoeira Arthur Emídio

Translation by Fogueirinha

I had been training for 5 or 6 years and was perhaps experiencing the golden years of my capoeira life. I thought there was no capoeirista who could beat me in a game. Bahia was beautiful and the center of the universe for us Bahians. Blacks and whites mingled in the narrow streets paved with hundred-year-old cobblestone. White linen suits were seen everywhere on Sundays and at plaza parties. My two-toned shoes with pointy tips were my favorite and my rusty but sharp razor rested nervously in the pocket of my bell-bottomed pants. In the absence of so many events as there are today, in the inexistence of the internet that governs us like the god of communication and in the silence of the secretive practice of capoeira which served as an essential requirement of malandragem, I felt like a samurai that had lost his master, a “ronin” in search of mortal duels in the quiet of the night. I traveled looking for the best capoeiristas.

In the north zone of Rio de Janeiro I met Arthur Emídio in the pharmacy where he worked. He had heard of me and we went to his academy together. I watched his class seated on a bench in the small room. There was a lot of excitement and capoeiristas flew doing jumps and flips I had never seen before. Arthur was a dynamo who jumped, rolled on the floor, clapped his hands, and let loose a very loud and partly falsetto “IÊÊÊ” to stop the music at the right time, which I imitated for many years. Without a doubt he was a candidate for a great duel!

The class ended and Arthur invited me to enter the roda. I played with two of his students. One left the roda limping and the other was knocked out with the help of a meia lua de compasso to the head. Arthur Emídio called me to the foot of the berimbau. The moment of the grand duel had arrived. We played for a very long time with the maldade that devoured me and made me want to play even more. Arthur did not hesitate one second. He played with a mercurial-like slipperiness that I could not touch. Every once in a while he would flip trying to hit my head but he only hit the wind of my shadow. He had given himself away when he wanted to show (or scare) me by doing two similar flips on a bag of sand during his class. After two hours the lights went out in the street. Arthur went to the pharmacy where he worked next to the academy, grabbed a few packets of candles which we lit around the roda, and we continued the “catch me if you can.” At around 2am we decided to stop. As the song goes, he did not win, and neither did I. To celebrate we had a beer at the bar on the corner.

Go with God, capoeira. One of these days we will meet again to resolve this duel.

Acordeon

ARTHUR EMIDIO

Eu tinha por volta de 5 ou 6 anos treinando e, talvez, estivesse vivendo o período áureo da minha capoeiragem. Eu achava que não havia capoeirista que me ganhasse no jogo. A Bahia era linda e o centro do universo para nós baianos. Negros e brancos se misturavam nas ruas estreitas e calçadas com paralelepípidos centenários. O traje de linho branco predominava nos domingos e nas festas de largo. Meu sapato de duas cores e bico fino era o meu favorito e, a navalha enferrujada mas afiada, descansava nervosa no bolso da minha calça de boca larga. Na ausência dos eventos abundantes como existem hoje em dia, na inexistência da internete que nos governa como o deus da comunicação e no silêncio da prática sigilosa da capoeira que funcionava como requisito essencial da malandragem, eu me sentia como um samurai que havia perdido seu senhor, um “ronin”em busca de duelos mortais na calada da noite. Viajei a procura dos bambas. 

Na zona norte do Rio encontrei Arthur Emídio na farmácia em que trabalhava. Ela já havia escutado a meu respeito e fomos juntos para sua academia. Assisti a aula sentado no banco da pequena sala. A animação era grande e os capoeiristas voavam em saltos que eu nunca tinha visto antes. Arthur era um dínamo que pulava, rolava no chão, batia palmas e mandava um “IÊÊÊ” muito alto e meio de falsete para parar a música no tempo certo que por muitos anos imitei. Sem dúvida era um candidato para um grande duelo!

A aula acabou e Arthur me convidou para entrar na roda. Joguei com dois alunos deles. Um saiu mancando e o outro dormiu com a ajuda de uma meia lua de compasso na cabeça. Arthur Emídio me chamou para o pé do berimbau. Havia chegado a hora do grande duelo. Jogamos durante muito tempo na maldade que me devorava e me dava ainda mais gana de jogar. Arthur não vacilou um segundo sequer. Jogou que nem um azougue o qual não pude tocar. De vez em quando ele dava um salto do nado tentando atingir minha cabeça mas, só encontrava o vento da minha sombra. Ele havia entregue o ouro ao bandido quando quiz se mostrar ou me assustar ao dar uns dois saltos semelhantes num saco de areia durante a aula. Depois de umas duas horas a luz apagou na rua. Arthur foi na farmácia em que trabalhava ao lado da academia, pegou alguns pacotes de vela que acendemos em volta da roda e continuamos o pega pra capar. La pelas 2 da  manhã decidimos parar. Como diz a cantiga, nem ele venceu nem eu. Para comemorar, fomos tomar uma geladinha num bar da esquina.

Vá com Deus, capoeira. Uma hora dessas a gente se encontra de novo para decidir nossa diferença.

Acordeon

Pequeno film francês sobre a Bahia que menciono: 

 http://www.ina.fr/video/CPF86642680/bahia.fr.html

B2B - BERKELEY TO BAHIA BY BICYCLE

 I am glad that you are following me because I will share insights and projects with my readers. What is of value to me is to help enrich the lives of others. Capoeira is a remarkable tool of personal transformation, and it is the chisel that I hold. The plans below resonate with the mission that has guided me throughout my capoeira career.
(O texto em Português sera apresentado brevemente)

After our 2012 Encounter & Batizado, I will start a long journey, biking from Berkeley to Bahia. One year later and 14,000 miles away, I intend to arrive in the historical plaza Terreiro de Jesus in time to celebrate my seventieth birthday and fifty-five years of capoeira in a roda. I am open to ride along requests and sponsorships.  It is essential to me that this ride and its various endeavors raise enough funds to ensure sustainability of a program for kids’ at-risk that we support in Brazil, Projeto Kirimurê (http://www.projetokirimure.org/).

My plans for this trip incorporate the following projects: 

• Workshops and participation in capoeira events promoted by groups along the way;
  
• To capture the many ways that capoeira has transformed the lives of capoeiristas we encounter, via interviews, filming, and recording;
  
• A collaborative CD, reflecting the diverse musical and cultural backgrounds of participating capoeiristas;
  
  
• To finish a book in progress about reflections on capoeira. Hopefully, the monotony of constant pedaling will sharpen my perception, and help me articulate thoughts that have been floating in my head for some time;
  
• A documentary film that will weave old historical capoeira footage, footage from relevant cultural aspects, and that of significant moments of the ride. I want to create a work of art on par with other professional documentaries.
  

It may seem like nonsense for someone at may age to embark on such an undertaking. I am conscious that I have already crossed the juncture in life in which to achieve the ordinary requires the extraordinary. There is an essential part of myself driven by challenges, and the “Berkeley to Bahia by Bicycle” is my answer.
In route, confronting the difficulties of countless hours of riding, unpredictable obstacles, and my physical limitations, I want to dive into a process of introspection in which past, present and future may fuse together in a quest for self-knowledge and further meaning of capoeira. I have the personal commitment and determination to meet this challenge, and I want to emerge from it as a better person and teacher.

A major project of this sort is complex and nonlinear and is not meant to be attempted alone. It requires a diverse group of people helping in all kinds of ways. I humbly ask that all of my students and friends consider their skills and talents to see how they may contribute to this cause. It will take a team effort to make this large plan a reality.  We will need help finding capoeira schools in Central America and northern South America to determine the final route, help in finalizing the whole plan, including choice of equipment, selection of human resources (film producers, grant writers, sponsors, etc), and above all, your collective moral support.

Please, go to the discussion area of this page and lets brainstorm to develop a realistic schedule. Submissions should be entered under proper topics already in place. It will be useful if you let us know who you are, what is your field of expertise, and how you may contribute. My sincere hope is that this collaboration will only deepen and enhance the relationship of all of us to capoeira as a global art form. Let’s join forces to make this happen in its full potential!

More to come soon.