OK, last time asked if anyone knew of any other forms of expression that were seen as rebellious and not necessarily outlawed but banned by most media. Well I have a few answers for that…Gangster Rap and some Hard Rock. Both of these are forms of expression and for one reason or another they have at one time or another been banned. So that infamous saying “history repeats itself” is true. Ok now back to business, we are on to part three of the history and a truly hope this is more educational and interesting than boring…hopefully. Well last time we were talking about the banishment of Capoeira and its strength to reemerge. Capoeira continued to be practiced but due to the tension, it went underground. The roda (pronounced “hodas”, the circle in which Capoeira is played) was often held with plenty of ways to escape if the police discovered the illegal games. There was even a special rhythm that was added to the music to warn the players that the police were coming. To go further in concealing Capoeira the practitioners (capoeiristas) were given nicknames to hide their true identities. This tradition still lives on and when a person is baptized into capoeira they are given a nickname. My nickname or apelido is Paixao (pronounced Pash-ou), it was given to me by my professor Americano. Sorry for the sidetrack…well the persecution of capoeira continued and it was entirely wiped out by 1918. But do not fret, remember capoeira has deep roots, its strength and passion will not die so stay tuned for reemergence of capoeira…
