Monthly Archives: April 2015

Salvador | Bahia | Brasil

THE CITY OF SALVADOR

“Salvador, Bahia, African territory
Baiano me, it’s you, we are
A voice, a drum
Oxente like, you’re seeing a we is northeast?
Fever goat
Get out batucador
Who was your teacher?
Capoeira ”

(Music: Well Root | Saulo Fernandes)

Framed by the Bay of All Saints and beaches of outstanding natural beauty, Salvador, cultural patrimony of humanity, preserves an architectural complex that is a piece of living history of Brazil, that was the first capital.

Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Brazil until 1763, is located in the Reconcavo Baiano, the bayside of All Saints, which opens to the Atlantic Ocean. Famous for “have summer all year,” the annual temperature average is 24 C, which does not free of rainy periods in the months of autumn-winter.

HISTORY

Salvador was founded by the first governor-general of Brazil, Tomé de Sousa, in 1549, by order of John III, who decided to install there the colony the seat of government in order to promote their development and coordinate the defense against Indians and pirates . In the sixteenth century, Salvador was limited to the area today between the Pelourinho and the Castro Alves square.

In 1624 was attacked by the Dutch, who capitulated the following year; in 1627 was new attack of the Dutch, and in 1638 the Count Maurice of Nassau arrived with troops assigned to the city assault. The forces of the last Dutch attacker were expelled in 1654. In the eighteenth century the city became the scene of many movements for national independence; there were armed uprisings, which were suffocated by the imperial forces.

Until the mid-eighteenth century, with the expansion of sugarcane plantations, Salvador experienced strong growth spurt, with construction of palaces and manor houses, convents and churches that expanded the boundaries of the city towards the hills: to the north, the convent Carmel and St. Anthony’s Chapel; to the south, the convent of St. Benedict; and west, the Exile.

In 1763 the capital of Brazil was moved to Rio de Janeiro and began a gradual decrease phase of the Savior growth rate. Until the nineteenth century, the Bahian city was limited to the east by Tororo Dam, built during the Dutch occupation, to the south by Fort San Pedro and north by strong Barbalho. In the late nineteenth century, the pace of growth has resumed and accelerated in the second half of the twentieth century, thanks mainly to oil exploration – with the installation of refinery Mataripe and other units of Petrobras – and the Center deployment Aratu Industrial. The supply of jobs, as well as the training of skilled labor and the exchange of wealth widened. Since then, the city consolidated its regional metropolis functions and grew toward the beaches and hills.

LANDMARKS
Salvador is a city that delights. Whether the beautiful beaches or for its gastronomy as particular, the fact is that the city can leave the passionate visitors.

Salvador Beaches: The edge of the city has more than 50km of beaches. The beach of the Farol da Barra to Flamengo Beach, Salvador has beautiful scenery with beaches to suit all tastes, from the most popular to the most quiet. For those who want to see the hustle tip is the beach of Barra Lighthouse, which brings together one of the most beautiful postcards of Salvador and still attracts every tourist. Already the beach Piata with its calm and beautiful coconut water is perfect for bathing and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The list also includes the beaches of Amarnath and Frame, ideal for sports such as surfing. Not to mention the poetic beach Itapuã, immortalized by Vinicius de Morais and the bohemian beach of the Red River that brings together many bars.

Pelourinho – Historic City Center: This is undoubtedly one of the most precious treasures of the city: Pelourinho. The historic center of Salvador has a rich historical collection one of the largest architectural ensembles in the country, becoming a must Salvador. The cobblestone streets bring the Bahian culture with all its art forms, music, capoeira, several restaurants with tasty Bahian food and many shops selling typical products.

The Strong History: In the historic center, Salvador has other attractions that help tell the story of the city: the Strong. Barra is the Forte de Santo Antonio da Barra, which is also the Nautical Museum. At the same point are still the Forts of Santa Maria and San Diego. The Fort of San Pedro, located near the Campo Grande and the Sete de Setembro Avenue and even the Monte Serrat Fort, situated in Itapagipe Peninsula.

Churches: A people with such faith and religion as could not fail to have as attractions their churches. In Salvador there is a kind of “popular saying” that says the city has a church for every day of the year. True or not, Salvador has many churches and among the best known and most visited is the Senhor do Bonfim church that hosts one of the most popular traditional parties in Salvador and the Church of San Francisco, located in the Pelourinho with its coated gold inside .

In addition to these attractions, savior reserve many other surprises to visitors: The Abaete Park with its 12 square kilometers and the Abaeté Lagoon; Lesser Town with its old houses; the famous Lacerda Elevator – postcard of the city – that leads to the Lower City; the Farol da Barra, the Mercado Modelo with its many craft shops and many other attractions.

Berimbau

The berimbau is a musical bow of African origin. It consists of an arc of biriba wood about 1.6 meters long and 2.5 centimeters thick, called the verga. The lower end of the verga is carved into a peg to attach the wire (arame), which is then stretched tight over the top end of the verga, bending it. The arame is a steel wire taken from the inside of a car tire; before there were tires, animal entrails or vegetable fibers were used to string the berimbau. The resonator attached towards the bottom of the verga is called thecabaça. It is a dried, hollowed-out gourd, typically of the specieslagenaria vulgaris.

The instrument is held in the left hand with the opening of the cabaça facing the body. It is balanced on the pinky finger, and an old Brazilian coin (dobrão) or stone is held between the left thumb and forefinger; this serves to press against the arame and alter the pitch. The right hand holds the caxixi, a rattle woven of wicker with seeds, seashells, or pebbles inside, as well as the baqueta, a thin wooden stick used to strike the arame.

Berimbaus come in three sizes. The one with the largest cabaça and most flexible verga is called the gunga. It has the deepest sound, and in the roda it is responsible for keeping the basic rhythm. The berimbau médio has a medium-sized cabaça. In the roda, it plays the inverse of the gunga’s rhythm. The viola or violinha has the smallest cabaça, the stiffestverga, and the highest, sharpest sound. Its role is to improvise, embellish, and play variations on the rhythm.

There are many legends surrounding the berimbau; the most interesting tells about a beautiful young girl who was attacked and killed by a villain while drinking water from a stream. Her enchanted body transformed into a berimbau: her body became the arc of wood, her hair became thearame, her cupped hands became the cabaça, and her cries of sadness and pain became the instrument’s melancholy sound.

CAPOEIRA

Unfortunately, there are no written records regarding Capoeira from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Within the sociocultural context of the nineteenth century, Capoeira emerged as a practice of enslaved Africans in Brazil. It is believed that it originated in the body movements of warrior dances brought to Brazil by blacks coming from the region of Angola (arts like the N'GOLO, the Bassula, the Cabangula and Umudinhu), which mixed in Brazil, incorporating other elements and thus giving rise to Capoeira.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, with free blacks, whites and Portuguese from the European immigration, and population flow from rural areas to urban areas, Capoeira began to change from a "pastime of slaves" to becoming a part of popular culture in Brazilian society.

Currently, Capoeira is practiced in groups, clubs, associations and federations, having spread throughout Brazil and the world. It integrates people that come from different social classes, ethnicities, ages and regions, all interacting with their bodies in capoeira and relating to each other in groups.

Capoeira Angola

Also mother capoeira call, the game of Angola, is the origin of capoeira is the type of poultry that is closest to that which would be "capoeira of slaves." Capoeira Angola is very tricky and needs to know how to play, to get a wheel. Full of precepts and rules to follow, comes to seem more a ritual ceremony than a game or a fight. His slow and rhythmic touch, its sad and painful litanies, can make anyone fall in love with this game. The capoeria Angola is the oldest style of play capoeira that exists today.Thanks to Master Pastinha, who practically lived his life for poultry, it was preserved so that today we find schools where you play as if playing in the IX century. And all the teachers "angoleiros" - as they are called - are keen to keep these traditions and passes them to their students, so it does not lose its roots. Within the Capoeira Angola there is no room for innovation or change because if that happened would be hurting its features to be leaving the game a cultural manifestation that started the all referred capoeira today. Therefore Capoeira Angola should be kept as it is and always has been. So to be called the Mother capoeira.Probably the name capoeira Angola (do not confuse with "Angolan capoeira" that would be nothing more than capoeira introduced in Angola by Brazilian) has arisen because the main port where slave ships docked the was located in Angola and the Portuguese, any black brought to Brazil was usually considered Angola. This should have remained until after the abolition, when blacks thus released but placed in unfavorable condition, had to choose between working for their former owners, bosses now, or fall into delinquency. And so, even after the abolition continued to be treated as "black Angola". Probably during this period the former slaves already practiced that would result in Capoeira Angola with not much, but already with some freedom, the streets and fields. Thing in the eyes of the settlers would be seen as vagrancy or black game, set of black Angola or simply playing Angola. As the term capoeira has existed since the time of the quilombos to designate a slave who fled, a slave could well be called "capoeira Angola."

The Capoeira Angola is almost ritualistic, full of principles that should be followed carefully. In Angola the match, the movements are slow, but treacherous. It is a game of great wickedness, where it is understood by malice, capoeira's ability to deceive your partner pretending to apply a stroke and actually apply another where least expected and at the time when least expected too. Within the Capoeira Angola these factors are key to the experience that only can be achieved.

Master Pastinha said that the good capoeira will not stain clothes and not lose the hat. You do not actually hit the companion, but must stop the foot at the right time showing this superiority hit it if they so wished.

Capoeira Regional

The Regional game is characterized by being played to the rhythms of Capoeira Regional, "São Bento Grande Regional", "Idalina", "Banguela", "Amazonas", "Iúna," according to the principles developed by its creator, Manoel dos Reis Machado, Mestre Bimba (1900-1974). Bimba began to feel that the "Capoeira Angola", he had practiced and taught for a long time, had changed for the worse, and was a "dish of the day" for "pseudo-capoeiristas" that only used it for exhibitions in squares, with few attacks, leaving much to be desired in terms of the fighting aspect.

Bimba adopted elements of the "Batuque" dance and created what he called "Capoeira Regional", a Bahian martial art. (Batuque is a violent struggle, with the goal of throwing one's opponent to the ground using only one's legs. Bimba's father was a master in this sport). As an expert practitioner of "Capoeira Angola," and having extensive knowledge of the blows of "Batuque," it was easy for Bimba, with his creative genius, to create Capoeira Regional.

Having a quick rhythm isn't what makes a Regional game. There are rules; specific game for specific rhythms, and other foundational elements. In game of Capoeira Regional the players may be close together or far apart. The game can be high or low. It can be played in the Banguela rhythm, which the Master created to calm heated games. But it has to be rhythmic, synchronized with the beat of the single berimbau commanding the roda and setting the pace of the game. Capoeira Regional has strength, determination, rhythm, and a lot of technique and trickery as well.