Capoeira Angola Palmares

“Capoeira na vida, capoeira na roda .” Mestre Nô

The Group

Capoeira Angola Palmares was founded in 1979 by Mestre Nô, on November 20th, the day of Black Consciousness. We aim to preserve the memory and the fundaments of what makes this art the most authentic expression of resistance of a race that suffered, fought, and still fights for freedom.

What is capoeira?

Capoeira is a brazilian martial-art that grew from survival, created by the African slaves during the colonial period. It is an art of self-defense that is hidden in dance and played as a game between two players inside a circle, or roda, lead by music and songs. The capoeira practiced today is close to the cultural forms called vadiação (loafind around) that existed in the renconcavo (bay) of Salvador, Bahia, in the North East of Brazil, which is the heartland of capoeira.

 

To learn capoeira is to learn from the past to build a better future. The capoeirista must have an adventurous spirit of "malandragem" and face the distrust. He is serene and bold, loving and cruel, faithful and distrustful, but above all, he is charismatic and communicative.

 

To learn capoeira does not mean to learn how to fight, but to learn the fight of the people that expressed themselves through physical movements due to the necessity to survive, for freedom.

 

Now a days, capoeira changed it's image a lot, therefore, it preserves through its roots (which inspires peace and a spiritual harmony, along with a sentiment of fight), the lessons left by those that rebelled against captivity and any form of opression. In the "roda"of capoeira there is no place for judgements and personal vanity. In it, opposites meet (doctor and illiterate, black and white, police and delinquent, women and men, strong and weak, etc.) and the player is only worth as much as his/her art.

 

In capoeira there is no difficult or impossible task, it is the capoeirista who is a creative and determined warrior, whom loves life and liberty.

 

Viva a capoeira!

Mestre Lincoln

Lincoln de Melo was born in Salvador, Bahia - Brazil on September 25th 1964. He started learning capoeira with Gran Mestre Nô at the age of thirteen. Lincoln quickly became one of Mestre Nô's best students. He continued the work and teachings his master taught him by giving capoeira lessons in Salvador, and then moved to Florianopolis, in the south of Brasil, being the first capoeirista baiano to reach those shores. After much work and dedication, in 1995 Lincoln decided to come to the U.S.A. and continue his work of capoeira. Mestre Lincoln lived in New York for twelve years where he worked with several dance companies as well as teaching capoeira to children and adults. After some time, he created the non-profit organization called Bahia Group Dance & Arts of Brasil, to continue spreading the culture, traditions, music, and language of Bahia, Brazil through the art of capoeira. In 2004 he was awarded the title of Grand-Mestre, widely recognized as a pivotal force in the world of capoeira. Today he has taught classes and conducted workshops in Brazil, Europe, the caribbean and the U.S.A.
Mestre Nô
Norival Moreira de Oliveira was born in Coroa, Itaparica, Salvador, Bahia - Brazil on June 22nd 1945. At age 7, Norival and his family moved to Masaranduba, a poor neighborhood not far from the church of Bonfim. Mestre Nilton and Mestre Cutica, brothers and highly respected capoeiristas who lived down the block, took young Norival to meet the elder masters Pirro and Zeca. Pirro, Zeca and Nilton organized and commanded many capoeira rodas in the streets. Norival began playing in the mestre's rodas and in 1965 he started teaching in his own academy. Mestre Nô founded Capoeira Academia Retintos, Orixas da Bahia and Capoeira Palmares. He has taught to thousands of capoeiristas. He is founder, president, and grand master of Associacao Brasileira Cultural de Capoeira Palmares (ABCCP).





Mestre Lazaro, Mestre Lincoln and Mestre No at Mestre Lazaro's batizado in Salvador, Bahia - Brazil 2010