Event Description
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art form. Many practitioners claim that capoeira is normally accompanied by music because it had to be disguised as a dance in order to fool the slave owners. Such a simplistic reading diminishes and negates the complex interplay between sound, object, and body that unfolds within the ritual space of the capoeira roda (circle). Music not only helps inspire movements, but also creates energy and transmits oral history and tradition. Mestre Moraes discusses how music, through the rhythm, words, and meaning, produces trance, merges the past and the present, and connects a community to its ancestors. The lecture will be accompanied by a musical performance of capoeira instruments.
Speaker
Mestre Pedro Moraes Trindade (Mestre Moraes) is the founder of Grupo de Capoeira Angola, Pelourinho (GCAP). He has devoted himself to promoting and preserving the African roots of capoeira. Moraes is PhD candidate at the Federal University of Bahia, where he conducts ethnographic research on Angola. In 2004, Mestre Moraes was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional World Music Album category.
Cosponsors
Co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Latino Policy Research, and La Peña Cultural Center.