Capoeira News Online

With the 2016 Olympic Games fast approaching, the culture of Brazil—and especially of Rio de Janeiro—is getting lots of attention. Rocinha’s Acorda-Capoeira, led by Mestre Manel, was recently featured in a Reuters article detailing the mestre’s extraordinary efforts in building a successful capoeira community in one of Rio’s most notorious favelas.

Curbed.com on The Struggle to Build a Proper Monument to Slavery in Rio, particularly at Rio’s Valongo Wharf:

Built in 1811, the Valongo Wharf in Rio de Janeiro has been buried many times throughout its history. One of the largest slave ports in the Americas, the area served as the entryway for more than half a million Africans held in bondage. It was literally covered up in 1843, when the bride of Brazil’s Portuguese emperor was set to arrive for a grand wedding, and then slowly covered with…

While capoeira’s identity has always had strong roots, it finds its public face constantly changing as the art form adapts to a fast-evolving modern world. Technology, media, and an ever-expanding profile present challenges to the traditions within capoeira and its conservatives, as phenomenons such as the UFC drive more interest to all martial arts—especially ones as visually-pleasing as capoeira.