Professora Borboleta of Fort Worth Capoeira Regional recently traveled to an event in Oakland, CA with her authentic samba de roda clothes, hand made in Bahia, Brazil. Unfortunately, the clothes did not make the return trip with her back to Fort Worth, Texas: they were stolen right from the car they were placed in. In a new GoFundMe campaign, she describes the ordeal and asks the capoeira community for help in replacing these special items that took years to collect.

In November 2016, I was at an event in Oakland, and was asked to bring my Samba de Roda clothes to help with a presentation, which I was very happy to do! We had a lovely presentation (the picture above is the last time we used the clothes!). However, after the event, the car I was in was broken into, and my bag with all of my Samba clothes was stolen. We searched the surrounding neighborhoods, but no trace of them was found.

I am hoping to raise some money to replace the skirts. Until I have replacements, I can no longer do presentations. While I continue to teach about Samba de Roda with the local youth in a number of outreach programs, the clothes really help bring the culture alive for the kiddos.

As you know, capoeira’s culture consists of Afro-Brazilian elements beyond the martial art itself, and samba de roda is an important part of this cultural identity. Capoeira News Online will be making a contribution and we are encouraging our readers to do the same to help support Professora Borboleta and Fort Worth Capoeira Regional.

Visit the GoFundMe page to make your donation right away. More information on Fort Worth Capoeira Regional can be found on Facebook and at their official website.